Journey to Home
by Ace-Garnet
Summary: "Wait, you're in high school?" Raoul exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief. "Dude! You look like you're our age!" Erik gave them a side glance. "And what age is that exactly?" "We're twelve." Christine answered with a shrug. Erik mentally groaned. He got rescued by a pair of sixth graders. Great, just great. Such a blow to his ego. High School AU. Asexual Erik.
1. To the Rescue

To the Rescue

 **Quick notes for my dear readers before you start. This is a high school AU so they are all young. Mme. Giry is going to be Meg's sister as opposed to mom so that it makes more since for her to be friends with Erik. This story skips time almost every chapter, I think…because I'm going from Erik being a freshman in high school in the first chapter to Raoul, Christine, and Meg graduating high school and they are almost three years younger than Erik so yeah, I cannot think of that much to write. Mostly slice of life, but definitely romance as well, poor naïve Erik.**

 _Damn, damn, damn…_ Erik thought as he sprinted through the hallways of his school, trying to get to the exit as fast as possible.

Two sets of heavy feet chased after him, and Erik now regretted staying after school ended to look up some books on architecture. He had wanted to see if they would have any layouts on different ways trap doors could be made, or at the very least inspire him on ways to create his own trap doors. But well, he didn't have any internet at home, so had to make do with public Wi-Fi. There was also no staff around because it was Friday, and that meant that when the last bell rings to dismiss class, the staff see it as a dismissal as well. Not that he could blame them, everyone always wants to start the weekend as soon as possible.

Still, Erik thought as he went through the entrance doors with barely a pause in his stride, maybe he should have gone to the public library instead but that would've required money for the bus and…

The entrance being slammed open brought him back from his thoughts and he veered left, hoping to get to a more populated area before he was caught up with. His backpack grew heavier as he went, it being filled with books on various subjects, which he now regretted taking with him. He twisted through the streets, dogs sometimes barking as he raced pass them, but still he heard the yells and stomping of the two behind him. At times he believed that they were catching up to him but he didn't dare to look back. That was how one ended up tripping and he couldn't risk that.

Eventually he could tell they were getting tired, their pace slowing, but so was his.

Erik blames his clothes for being the reason why the two eventually caught him as he neared a convenient store near his place. He was in good shape but running in black dress pants, dress shoes and a long black dress shirt was not ideal for the humid spring air. He had planned on entering the store and waiting the two out before leaving or, at the very least, catch his breath enough to make it back to his place.

But when he was at the parking lot he was suddenly tackled.

The hard cement rushed to meet him and Erik let out a pained grunt as he slammed onto the ground with another body landing on top of him. The air was knocked out of him so he struggled to breath. Even then, he tried breaking away to get up, but another set of hands latched onto his arms and wouldn't let go.

"Great job Gab! Let's get the freak behind the store so that no one will see." Joseph Buquet crackles from above Erik.

Erik struggles in their grip as the two dragged him towards the back of the store but they both tighten their grips, enough so that he knew he was going to have hand shape bruises later. At one point Buquet punches the side of his head so hard that Erik sees stars flutter in his vision. The pain caused him to stagger and stop fighting long enough that the two were able to drag him behind the store.

Buquet and his sidekick, Gab, push him into the wall. He hits it, before sliding down because he lost his balance. He tried to stand but Buquet kicks him in the shoulder making him go back down, the sun heated gravel scrapping his hands and knees.

Erik's found it hard to see, the sun in his eyes and his head throbbing from the earlier punch, but his ears heard what was said next.

"Take his mask." Buquet snickered nasally.

Erik shuddered as if he had been tossed into an ice filled tub, dread and panic tightening his lungs within his chest.

"No." he whispered horrified. He got another punch on his for the protest.

"Shut up, freak." Gab replied before yanking off the mask that covered Erik's disfigurement.

Instantly, Erik raised his hands to hide his face, a muffled scream escaping his lips from behind them.

"Hey, get his hands out of the way! I want to take a picture!" Buquet complained to Gab.

Erik felt Gab's large, rough hands tug at his arms to get him to remove them but he pressed them as close to him as possible with all his might. He curled into a ball on the sharp gravel when the hits and kicks began. Both Buquet and Gab rained down blows upon his body, hearing both of them cursing at him. But Erik would not remove his hands. Even when it began to be difficult to breathe, his building rage and adrenaline gave him the energy to continue to press himself inwards.

He didn't know how long he laid there getting hit after hit. He wondered if he might pass out before the two stopped since he was weakening from the adrenaline rush passing and his anger would also lead him to a more tired state.

But then…

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Crap! We'll get the freak later. Run!" Buquet shouted to Gab.

Erik heard the pair run off, but still didn't dare move, mostly because of the pain that currently engulfed his body. He heard another two sets of feet coming towards him and stiffened.

"Hey, are you okay?" a young voice asked him filled with concern.

The voice made Erik pause. It was a female's.

"My mask." Was all he whispered, exhausted now that Buquet and Gab were gone and his anger becoming more tiring then energizing.

"Raoul, I think that's it over there. Can you get it?" the girl's voice called out to someone off to the side. Erik heard a pair of shoes move away from him, probably this Raoul retrieving his mask.

Erik flinched back when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, the hand quickly disappeared.

"I'm sorry!" the girl's voice cried. "I wanted to see how badly you were hurt. Can you sit up?"

Erik nodded slowly. He painfully sat up with a grunt and, not removing his hands he opened his eyes and looked through his fingers. A pair of big brown eyes took almost all his view.

He startled back, and the eyes jumped back as well. Now he could see the rest of what came attached to the eyes.

In front of him sat a young girl with long hair that was up in pigtails and she had a cherubs face. She was on her knees in front of him, getting the purple sundress she was wearing dirty but she didn't seem to care as she stared at him with furrowed brows and a bitten lip.

When their eyes met, she smiled brightly at him.

"Wow, you have pretty eyes! They're like gold! I'm Christine by the way! What's your name?"

"Erik." he replied staring at her not knowing what else to say after that comment about his eyes. The sharp pain in his head gradually begun to turn into a dull throb.

"Ahh, shouldn't you, I don't know, be asking him whether or not he needs a hospital or something instead of intros?" a boys voice criticizes.

Erik glanced to the side and saw a boy standing a few feet away from where Christine and he were sitting. He was lean and tall and wore jeans and a Captain America t-shirt. In his hands was Erik's mask.

Erik saw Christine scowl but her lips were pouting.

"I did! He didn't answer me though, he wants his mask back."

The boy looked down at the mask and tossed it playfully into the air before catching it with a smirk. Erik's teeth clenched at the expression, so much was it like the ones Buquet and Gab wore when tormenting him.

"I don't think I've heard a thank you yet for the save."

"Give it back!" Erik barked viciously, some of his early fury coming back because of the boy's attitude.

Both the girl, Christine and the boy jumped, taking on alarmed expressions. The boy quickly straightened and placed his mask a couple feet from him before backing away. Regret, coursed through Erik as he observed the pair, Christine was biting her lip and leaning slightly back away from him and the boy was shuffling his feet, looking down with his hands behind his back.

Erik took the opportunity of not having their full gaze to reach out and pick up his mask. Turning away from them, he expertly placed his mask back on his face in one motion before turning back to them.

"Forgive me." Erik apologized softly to show that he was no longer angry. "I can have quite a temper but did not mean to take it out on the two of you. Thank you for interfering when you did."

The mood immediately changed, the pair perking up at the same time and beaming at him.

"No problem!" the boy replied, while rubbing the back of his head trying to appear humble but the wide smile giving his pride away. "I'm Raoul, by the way!"

After Erik gave his name again in response Christine spoke.

"Why were they messing with you in the first place?" Christine asked curiosity seeping in her tone.

Erik shook his head. "What bully needs a particular reason to harass others? I was an outcast in middle school, why would there be a difference in high school? Buquet and his minion set their attentions on me the first day and have since made it their priority to make me miserable."

"Wait, you're in high school?" Raoul exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief. "Dude! You look like you're our age!"

Erik gave them a side glance. "And what age is that exactly?"

"We're twelve." Christine answered with a shrug.

Erik mentally groaned. He got rescued by a pair of sixth graders. Great, just great. Such a blow to his ego. But he'll remain grateful to them anyway.

"I'll have you know that I am fourteen. I only small for my age."

"Yeah, really small, if you're taken for someone our age." Raoul snickered, but quieted when Erik sent him a glare.

"Yes, thank you for telling me what I already know." Erik retorted sarcastically causing Raoul's cheeks to turn red and glance away.

Deciding that it was time for him to get back, Erik began to stand up. This turned out to be quite the challenge as the soreness from the earlier beating begun to settle in causing a flare of pain from the slightest movements. Christine stood up and offered to help but he denied her, convinced that wherever she would try to do to help, she would only cause him more pain. He didn't say that however, and was eventually able to get back on his feet.

He straightened and tried to brush off as much gravel dust off his clothes as he could. The young pair kept their eyes on him, as if waiting for him to topple over from his injuries. Based off the level of pain, Erik could already tell that nothing was broken or sprained, but he will certainly have a black and blue body coming tomorrow morning.

He didn't care, he wanted to go to the apartment and sleep forever.

Erik began to walk, well more like limp away from the pair but he paused. Turning back to them, he gave each of them a nod.

"Thank you again for you aid. I must return to my place now."

"You talk funny." Raoul replied with a grin, causing Erik to squint at him.

"Are you sure, you don't want us to at least walk you back to your place? In case something happens." Christine asks elbowing Raoul in his stomach which got her a hurt look from the boy.

"I'll be fine. It's not that much further. Good day." And with that, Erik began walking away.

He heard Raoul call out that they'll see him later, but Erik doubted that.

 **So they met, and so it begins. I would enjoy reading reviews about your thoughts, apparently they I kind of need them to keep up my excitement for a story. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Nursing the Wounds

Nursing the Wounds

Going back was painful. Very painful. But Erik made himself not stop or even pause the whole way back. He wasn't lying when he told the two that he lived nearby, but the injuries made the short walk back seem like a marathon. He was panting by the time he got to the apartment complex that he lived in with his mother. He stared dully at the stairs he had to climb to get to apartment for a few moments before forcing himself to begin his ascent.

The gray building was old and not in the best of shape, but it was all mother could afford. His father had left them for another family and never paid child support. Sometimes Erik wondered if he even knew that Erik existed, but his mother was never upfront about that information. She would only tell him, quite bitterly, that he left them for the wealthier option and that Erik's existence hadn't helped her at all.

Charming, his mother was.

Still, he tried, oh how he tried. Since he was younger, he would make sure that everything was in perfect order at the apartment, and would never complain nor ask for anything that required money. Holidays were certainly joyless affairs. He learned how to cook, the burn and cut scars on his hands will forever display how many times he made a mistake, so that she wouldn't have to worry about feeding him when she got home from wherever her job was at the time. The times in between her jobs were always the hardest, there were some days where the only food Erik would eat would be from the non-healthy dishes served at school. It was no wonder that Raoul mistook Erik for being the same age, he was thin, and short.

Erik finally made it to the floor that he and mother lived. He walked to the door and took out his keys to unlock it. He knew that his mother was not home, having the current job of being a cashier at Wal-Mart, which was demanding long hours from her. As he enter the apartment, he flicked the living room light switch on, but let out a sigh when the lights didn't turn on.

Mother must have forgotten to pay the electric bill again.

He hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out everything that would go bad without the cool temperature and placed the items on the counter. There wasn't a lot anyway. He went to the closet and pulled out the ice chest and dragged it over to the refrigerator. Opening the freezer, he took a knife and chipped away the ice that was slowly melting and dumped it into the chest. His body was protesting heavily as he worked but he gritted his teeth and continued until the chest was mostly full.

Shutting the freezer door, he went back to the items he took out of the refrigerator and placed them within the chest before shutting it. The ice chest would last for so long but hopefully it was enough time for mother to pay the bill. This was not the first time this has happened after all.

Sighing, Erik let himself collapse onto the closed chest lid. He head was still throbbing and he had to make sure he didn't have any wound that could get infected, but he didn't want to move. He sat there for he didn't know how long, but he forced himself to stand back up, his aching back popping as he did so.

He made his way to the bathroom, using the flashlight stored under the sink to see. Not being able to get a good look at his injuries with the flashlight he eventually gave up trying, exiting the bathroom once more. The apartment had one bedroom, which was his mother's so his makeshift bedroom was the living room. He went inside, walked to the couch and bent down. Grunting from a pain spike in his side, he pulled out his small travel bag. He brought it over to the coat closet that also worked as his own closet, pulling clothes out for tomorrow and folding them before placing them in the bag.

Erik then went back to the bathroom to get his toiletries, stuffing them into the bag as well. After getting what he needed, he went to the kitchen to leave a note for his mother. He's done this in the past, so he was not sure he even has to bother with a note anymore, but he does so just in case. Though, if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't be surprise to find out that mother had never read them in the first place. Maybe she was always secretly hoping that when she found him gone, it was a permanent affair. After all, the notes he had left previously were never moved from their spots or appeared to have been read at all.

He wrote the usual note, left the apartment and locked the door behind him. Erik got to the stairs again, he almost let out a whimper, not wanting to go back down. But he had to if he wanted to go where he wanted to. So steeling himself, he took the first step down.

He hissed out loud at the pain that shot up through his entire leg, his grip on the rail so tight that his knuckles were white. He breathed in through his nose slowly a few times, taking one last deep breath before making his way down. By the time he was at the bottom, he was out of breath and more exhausted then he thought he would be.

Maybe he did underestimate his injuries. Doesn't matter now, he made it down and where he was going there were no stairs that he'll be climbing.

Erik shifted his travel bag into his other hand and began walking. Luckily, the distance wasn't too great, for it only took twenty minutes to get to where he wanted, though the usual time was ten minutes.

He spotted the two-story house that he wanted, noticing that all the lights were out. He didn't even notice that the sun had gone down, focusing on trying to get one foot in front of the other. It was fine though, maybe this was better. He walked to the house and came to the tree that was planted in front. Glancing around to make sure no one was around, he swung his bag over his shoulder and heaved himself into the tree.

Pain exploded throughout his body that he almost lost his hold on the tree branches. However, he was able to keep his grip, though he had to pause for the pain to go back down before continuing.

Erik twisted up and through the branches until he came to the same height as the far right window on the second floor. Carefully, he made his way to the furthest edge that the branch would take him. Breaking off a piece of branch, he threw a stick at the window. It made a small sound, so Erik got another and threw it slightly harder.

It made a decent sound so Erik persisted with more at the same throw. He was about to throw his sixth when he saw movement within the room.

He saw the figure move to the window and he waved his hand, motioning for them to open the window. The figure got closer, and Erik smiled seeing the figure shake their head in exasperation but opening the window.

When it was open he spoke.

"Dear Antoinette, I am in need of some medical attention."

Without delay, the eighteen year old shook her head at him again but she reached out to him.

"Come on. Toss me your bag."

Erik did as she asked, throwing it gently so that she could easily catch it, which she did. She placed the bag in her room next to her, and reached out again.

"Can you make the jump yourself?"

Erik shook his head, not wanting to risk it with his injuries. He was grateful that Antoinette wasn't asking any questions yet, though that'll probably change when she sees him in good lightening.

Cautiously, he reached out and grasped her outstretch hand. Using her to keep himself stability he was able to make the small hop from the branch to the edge of her window. The pain in his legs from the impact caused him to flinch and almost lose balance but Antoinette grabbed the front of his shirt, giving him enough time to gain his steadiness. Once he gained it back, Antoinette helped him shuffle inside the window and into her bedroom.

She let him go to close the window before turning back to him with a scowl. She was in her pajamas which consisted of an oversize shirt that had a print of ballet figures on it and pajama shorts. Her long hair that she usually kept in a braid was down and hung like a waterfall around her.

Erik knew he must have woken her up, so gave her an apologetic grin.

"I wouldn't have come, but I needed the lightening."

Antoinette raised an eyebrow at him. "Your mom didn't pay the bill again?"

When Erik shook his head, she sighed. Motioning for him to follow her, she took him to her bathroom. The house was big enough that each of the four occupants had their own bedroom and bathroom. Erik is not above admitting that he was jealous of this fact at times.

They entered and Antoinette turned on the light. She turned back to face him, and let out a gasp.

"Is it really that bad?" Erik tried to tease, but Antoinette's eyes made him stop.

He turned towards the mirror and wince as he took in his reflection.

The masked covered majority of his face, plus it wasn't what had taken most of the beating anyway. His bottom lip was swollen, cut and had dry blood around his mouth because of it. His hair was a bird's nest and his clothes were in poor condition, there were even a couple tears in the shirt! His hands had dried blood on them from the gravel cuts and some of that blood got on his clothes.

He did not want to see what he looked like without his clothes. Probably completely black and blue.

Erik turned back to Antoinette who was still gawking at his appearance.

"Antoinette, it isn't as bad as it looks." Erik reassured.

She stopped gawking, only to glare at him, though he knew it was for him not towards him.

"You, in the shower, now. I'll go get what I need for your cuts."

When he didn't argue she nodded firmly and exited the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Sighing Erik began to undress, turning on the shower as he did so that the water would be at the right temperature when he was finished. He took off his mask last and bundled his clothing on top of the toilet seat before entering the shower.

He let out a small hiss as the water hit his cuts, apparently there were more then he thought there was. That gravel was sharper then he thought. Not wanting to take up too much time, he cleaned up quickly, using Antoinette's floral shampoo as a hair and body wash. He knew she wouldn't mind.

Turning off the shower, he stepped out and took out a towel he knew Antoinette kept as a spare in her cabinet. Walking back into her bedroom, Erik saw Antoinette sitting on her bed, sorting through the medicine kit.

"I took out your PJ's and put them on the chair. Don't worry, I won't peak." She explained, saying the last part with a playful tone.

Erik grunted making his way to the chair. He put on his clothes, letting the towel drop to the floor. After he placed his shirt on, he saw a plate on the desk that had two sandwiches and a glass of milk next to it. He turned to glance at Antoinette, whose back was to him.

"Thank you." He stated simply, taking the glass and having a few sips.

"Your welcome." Antoinette replied. "I figured that you didn't get to eat and even if you did, I would've made you eat them anyway. You're way too scrawny for a fourteen year old."

Good thing, he had already stopped drinking because Erik snorted. He noticed that his pain wasn't as bad anymore but that was probably because he was with Antoinette, who he knew he could trust. Kindness always eases pain. Grabbing the plate with his free hand he went over to Antoinette and sat in front of her on the chair that was usually by her desk but moved for him.

"How are you injured?" Antoinette asked as she poured alcohol onto a cotton ball.

"Mostly, it'll be a bunch of bruises appearing and soreness. Nothing broken or sprained. Other than my lip, the cuts are mostly on my hands, though I got a couple on my knees." Erik narrated, taking a bite out of the ham sandwich.

Antoinette nodded grimly.

"Let's do your hands last since you're eating and they seem to have stopped bleeding. Knees up." She instructed and Erik rose his legs so that his feet were on her bed next to her, to give her access to his knees.

Erik continued to eat as she treated the cuts, placing bandages on both knees when she was finished. She waited until he was done eating and washed his hands to work on his hands.

"Who did this?" Antoinette asked as she dabbed the cotton ball on his cuts. There was a slight sting but nothing too bad.

"Who do you think?" Erik grumbled.

Antoinette sighed, "That Joseph Buquet should be reported. Why don't you say anything?"

"I don't want to draw attention to myself." Erik mumbled.

She glanced up from his hands at that with a raised eyebrow, staring at his currently unmasked face.

"You wear a ghost white mask over your face at a school and you don't want to draw attention?"

Erik shrugged, which apparently was a bad idea since he got a flash of pain, causing him to wince. "With the mask, I'm mysterious, without it I'm the deformed monster that everyone would hate."

"You are not a monster." Antoinette retorted automatically. "If you were, I certainly wouldn't allow you into my bedroom. My parents wouldn't let you do these little sneak-ins whenever you needed to, and Meg wouldn't have a massive crush on you either."

"Meg does not have a crush on me!" Erik protested, thinking of the twelve year old blond who was Antoinette's younger sister.

Antoinette smirked. "Oh really? Trust me, she adores you, but you don't see it. It's okay, I know you see her as a little sister, and I think someday she'll see you as an older brother. But for now? Yeah, totally crushing."

Erik felt his cheeks warm up, and wanted to move away, but Antoinette was still working on his hands so he stayed put. Still, he grumbled back more protests but Antoinette chuckled in reply.

She began putting the materials away once she had finished wrapping up his hands and Erik moved the chair back to the desk.

"Can I spend the night?" he requested as he watched Antoinette move around her room to go back to bed. She turned to stare at him in disbelief.

"Do you even have to ask anymore? You know the answer already."

Erik shifted from side to side soon stopping when it caused the Band-Aids on his knees to crinkle. "That answer may change and it's always polite to ask."

Shaking her head fondly, Antoinette gestured for Erik to come to her. When he did, she made him lay on one side of the bed while she took the other side. Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled at him.

"I will never say no to you when you need me." Then she pinched his cheek causing him to yelp. "Got it?"

"Yes, Antoinette." Erik whispered, still rubbing his cheek where she pinched him after she turned off the lights.

 **Hope you enjoyed the read. Christine and Raoul won't show up again for a couple chapters because they will be focused on Erik's life. Reviews are always appreciated and loved! Plus they keep me excited about the fanfic so please comment your thoughts!**


	3. The Girys

The Giry's

The next morning was beyond painful to Erik. Even blinking hurt, why did it hurt, he didn't know but it did and it sucked. He was right when he thought that he was going to be black and blue all over. Most of it was on his left side where Buquet and Gab had kicked and punched him but his right also had some from being pressed into the sharp gravel pieces continuously. He also had a couple bumps on his head from where he had gotten punched but they were small, though rather tender.

Antoinette looked at him with pity when she saw the bruises on his upper body but also with a hint of anger. Erik knew that the anger wasn't towards him which made him happy at the show of Antoinette's protective side. She had to let out an especially deep breath, letting her eyes close as she noticed the hand shaped bruises on his arms. Luckily, his clothes covered majority of them, the only thing visible was his slightly swollen lip and the bandages around his hands.

She dragged him downstairs, well maybe not hard as she usually did since the slightest brush against his skin would make him flinch, but still, Erik found himself entering the kitchen with her. Her family was already inside getting breakfast ready. Mrs. Giry, a slim tall woman who bequeath her looks to Meg but grace to Antoinette, was setting the table while Mr. Giry, a short but fit man who gave more features to Antoinette but his enthusiastic personally to Meg, was flipping pancakes at the stove. Meg was sitting at the table, swinging her legs back and forth waiting to be served.

The three glanced at Erik and Antoinette as they entered before going back to what they were doing.

"Good morning, darling." Mr. Giry greeted towards Antoinette, adding three pancakes to the growing stack on the plate next to him. "Erik, good to see you."

Yes, Erik has done his random trips to the house so many times that no one in the family is fazed by them anymore. Years ago when he had first started his visits, Mr. Giry would get mad at him, not because he was sneaking into their house with the help of his daughter but because he was afraid that going in through Antoinette's bedroom window would lead Erik to getting injured. Eventually when Erik kept doing it, no matter how many times the Giry parents protested, they stopped doing so, letting Erik have his fun. Antoinette one time told him that she thought that the reason her parents let him come through the window was because they fear that if they denied him, he would stop coming. Though by now, the Giry parents practically saw him as the son who wasn't theirs and Erik knew that they tried to make sure he knew that.

"Good morning, sir. Madam." Erik replied to Antoinette's parents.

"Come." Mrs. Giry gestured for him to come to the table. "I refuse to let you leave this house without having a full breakfast."

Antoinette broke away from him to head to her father so Erik went to the table and let Mrs. Giry usher him into the seat next to Meg's. However, Mrs. Giry reached out and grabbed his arm to steer him, he couldn't help but flinch back violently and letting out a soft hiss at the touch.

Mrs. Giry immediately held her hand up, shock filling her eyes. Then she noticed his wrapped hands and busted lip and she frowned at him.

"What happened?" Erik wince at the tone she used, she was using her 'don't you even try lying to me' tone.

"I may have gotten into a fight yesterday." Erik responded, sending a glare to Antoinette when she snickered.

"Sorry Erik, but being in a fight requires you to have gotten a few blows in towards them as well, which I know didn't happen." She stated simply.

"Oh my poor darling." Mrs. Giry fussed, making Erik sit down. "Who was it? I'll have them reported to the school immediately."

Erik shook his head. "That won't work. It happened off school property so technically they are not required to interfere or punish them."

"Joseph Buquet and Gab whatever his last name is." Antoinette answered from where she stood by her father.

Erik wanted to glare at her, but she was turned away from him. She probably had done that on purpose.

"Oh those nasty boys!" Mrs. Giry huffed, now running her fingers through Erik's hair which he normally enjoyed but he had to tell her to stop because of the bumps on his head. That made her more riled up. "Why must they pick on Erik?! No, you know what, I know why. They are jealous! They are jealous because Erik is a genius who will someday outshine them all and they'll be nothing! That's why!"

"Mom…" Antoinette cautioned because Mrs. Giry can sometimes be difficult to calm back down when she gets too worked up.

Antoinette shot a glance at Erik which he saw so he helped by reaching out and taking one of Mrs. Giry's hands in his, slightly tugging on it to gain her attention. When she turned to him, he smiled.

"Thank you, madam."

Mrs. Giry frown turned from anger to concern immediately and she began to check the bandages on his hands.

"You're all cleaned up now though? Is that why you came over?"

Erik nodded, letting her gently pat him down as if checking for invisible wounds. "Mother hadn't paid the electric bill again so I came to Antoinette to help me clean up since the apartment was too dark to do it."

"Boy, I would hope that you would have come over here anyway." Mr. Giry disapproved, coming into the conversation, and bringing over the large stack of pancakes to place them on the table. He made sure Erik was meeting his eyes before continuing. "You know we don't like it when you're in that apartment by yourself, let alone when you don't have electricity. You should come to us when that happens."

"I don't like being a bother." Erik protested. "Besides, I don't like leaving mother alone for a few days."

Erik saw the look that Mr. and Mrs. Giry's shared and knew that what he said didn't help. So he tried again.

"Forgive me." He continued, lowering his head and voice to sound gloomier, hating that he was manipulating them but wanted the topic to put to an end. "I'll try to do better next time."

It worked.

"Darling, it's okay." Mrs. Giry hushed straightway. "We just worry about you, that's all."

Erik nodded but didn't let his head raise until Mrs. Giry tilted it up towards her. She gave him the smile that always filled him with warmth, the one that he had always wanted his own mother to bestow upon him.

"Now, let's eat. You all must be hungry." Mrs. Giry declared and the rest of the family sat down.

The table was for six, so they all sat together easily. Erik sat next to Meg and Antoinette was across from him. Mrs. Giry was at the head of the table on his left while Mr. Giry was on the right. Mrs. Giry had already placed everything needed for the breakfast. Syrup for the pancakes, butter and jam for the biscuits, and Mr. Giry always makes sure there is a side of bacon for breakfast. Mr. Giry also always makes sure that Erik gets extra bacon and Mrs. Giry makes sure he has milk. Their way of trying to help him grow, Erik supposed.

While they ate, Meg took up most of the talking. She enjoyed talking about her life as a sixth grader and all its wonders. To be honest, Erik was glad he listened to it every once in a while. He loved Meg, he did, but he can only take so much of the gossip of people almost three years younger than him. Still, he liked to image that this was what it would be like to have a little sister.

"So Christine text me yesterday about how she and Raoul came across some boy who was getting beat up. I asked her to describe them and I think it was Erik. She also said how they had thought he was there age but wasn't." Meg stated, taking a bite out of her pancake.

Erik put his head in his hand in defeat. "Yes that was me. Thank you for that Meg."

Meg grinned at him before going back to her plate, apparently done with her tale.

"Wait a minute." Erik straighten towards Meg. "You know those two?"

Meg shrugged, her mouth full. She had him wait as she finished chewing and swallowing before replying.

"Yeah, I've known them for years." She emphasize years as if she has lived many more then her twelve. "I know you have too."

Erik's brows went down now confused because he was sure he would've remembered those two if they had an earlier meeting. He turned to Mrs. Giry for explanation. She shrugged lightly.

"You haven't officially met either of them Erik, but Meg's been friends with both of them since kindergarten, so they have been around the house here and there. Though I suppose the only time you would have met them would have been at Meg's birthday parties."

Erik nodded in understanding, glad that it was cleared up.

"Well, they sure remember Erik." Meg continued. "Christine told me that she remembers seeing him around but had always thought he was a family friend who was from somewhere else because she never seen him at school. I told her that the reality was that he was Antoinette's friend just really short."

"Meg!" Mrs. Giry scolded at her daughter as Erik felt his cheeks heat up.

"Please stop talking Meg." Erik pleaded wanting to rub his face with his hand to get rid of the blush, but with his mask on he couldn't. Upside to that was that no one could see his red face either.

Meg pouted but went back to her breakfast as did the rest of them, though Erik saw the smirk on Antoinette's lips and sent her a scowl. To which she subtly stuck her tongue out at him when her parents weren't paying attention.

The rest of the breakfast went by with ease. The parent Giry's questioned Antoinette and Erik about what was going on with them. Antoinette, of course spoke less then Erik did because unlike her they didn't see Erik every day, so when he did come over he was almost interrogated. But he was used to it by now and he had to admit to enjoying it since the Giry's were really the only people who bothered to ask him such questions.

When it was over Mrs. Giry steered him and Antoinette out of the kitchen, not allowing them to help clean up. Antoinette led Erik back into her room so that Erik could begin gathering his stuff. As he did, he could feel her eyes on him as he moved about.

"They don't see you as a monster." Antoinette stated suddenly.

Erik shot her a glance where she stood leaning against her door with her arms crossed before going back to packing.

"Okay, so some people don't see me as a monster, but all from the same family so it doesn't really count." Erik countered, zipping up his bag.

Antoinette shook her head. "What about the theatre teacher at school? Doesn't he let you help out around the place? Even after accidently seeing you with your masked off."

"Mr. Khan? I'm pretty sure he only puts up with me because I'm good at fixing the theatre tech. As for seeing my face, he may not have called me a monster to my face but his expression said it all. You don't go that pale that fast from seeing something pleasant." Erik opposed.

Sighing, Antoinette shook her head at him and together they headed towards the front entrance. A deal Mr. Giry had struck with Erik when he had accepted his window entering ways. Erik could come in through the window when he needed to, but he had to leave out the front door.

When they got to the door, Erik made sure to call out his goodbyes to the rest of the Giry family. When he received three goodbyes he opened the door. Turning to give Antoinette her kiss goodbye on her cheek, he was stopped by her hand which startled him as she only did that when she was mad at him.

Antoinette stared at him for a few moments silently, and Erik let her. To annoy her and to try to lighten her mood, he kept his lips pressed against her fingertips where she had stopped him. Apparently, it didn't work because when she spoke she was firm and serious.

"Someday, someone will love you Erik. You'll find someone who'll love you the way you deserved to be loved. Maybe then, you'll accept that you are not the monster you believe yourself to be."

Erik regarded her for a few moments, even after she put her hand down from his mouth.

"Dear Antoinette," Erik began. "I believe you are being far too optimistic for your friend. However, I shall take your words to heart as I have always done."

She smiled sadly at him. "In all matters except this one."

Not knowing how to reply, he reached up again to give her his kiss, this time not being rejected. He left the Giry home.


	4. Music and Theatre

Music and Theatre

The rest of the weekend Erik spent in the apartment reading. Usually he would go to the public library to do it, but because his bruises caused him problems, he stayed. When he had first gotten back, mother wasn't there and the note looked untouched like usual. One might think that maybe mother hadn't returned the previous night but Erik knew that was not the case because there was new trash around the apartment and dirty clothes on the floor. He got rid of the note and settled back into the apartment. He then cleaned up the place which didn't take too long so was able to start his reading soon after.

The electricity still wasn't back on so as the sky grew darker, he had to use his flashlight that was given to him by the Giry's when he had first told them years ago about the sometimes living without electricity. He knew that they would have done more but he refused it.

Mother came back, his watch told him that it was almost 10pm. When Erik had heard the lock rattling from being unlocked, he quickly turned off his flashlight and huddled under the thin blanket he had for cover. She staggered in through the entrance wearing her blue Wal-Mart vest and hair put up in a clumsy bun. Erik often gazed at her, thinking of how beautiful she would be if life hadn't caused her to age faster than her time. Sometimes, Erik found himself believing that it was mostly his fault such a thing occurred. He would also think that if she knew what he sometimes thought, she would probably agree with him.

He watched her from his spot on his couch/bed as she flicked the switch on and cursed softly when it didn't turn on. She stumbled through the living room, almost hitting a couple pieces of furniture before she made it into the kitchen. She opened one of the draws and pulled out a lighter. Going through her purse she pulled out a box of cigarettes, and took one out. As she tried to lite it Erik spoke.

"I don't like it when you smoke." He whispered to her gently as not to startle her.

Apparently he did anyway because she jumped. She squinted from her spot in the kitchen towards the couch that he laid in. She grunted at him with a shake of her head. She lite the cigarette and took a long breath in, letting out the puff of smoke before replying.

"Well, I don't like seeing your face without the mask on so we both have to deal with things we don't like." She retorted, her voice raspy now after years on smoking.

Erik tried not to let the hurt show on his face, but inside his chest tightened at her words. Still, he brought his blanket up so that his face was covered, though he peaked through a hole he made so that he could still watch her.

"It's uncomfortable to sleep in."

Mother tapped her cigarette in the sink a couple times to get rid of the ashes on the tip. Shrugging, she took another breath of it as she headed towards her bedroom. "Whatever," she ridiculed, closing the bedroom behind her.

By the time Monday came, Erik was happy to note that his bruises were already beginning to change color that indicated they were healing. The bumps on his head were, while still there, no longer tender to the slightest pressure. On his way to school he met up with Antoinette and Meg, together they went to Meg's school first to drop her off then Antoinette and he walked the rest of the way to their school.

They always preferred to get to the school slightly earlier as neither of them were ones who enjoyed getting through the 'last minute arrivals' crowd. Adding the fact that Buquet and his minion were part of that crowd made arriving early that much more appealing to Erik. Antoinette and he split once they got inside and the day soon began.

Erik had to admit that while he enjoyed learning, he did not like school. Few of the subjects taught held interest for him, so he tended to daydream quite often. It would sometimes get him in trouble with the teachers, but they would eventually stop when they noticed that he still did well in their classes.

The only time he looked forward to a class was his music and theatre class. Luck had been on his side when it came to his class schedule. For his music class was before lunch and his theatre was his last. The music instructor, Mr. Webber, allowed him to play in the second room, away from the school band, with the grand piano hosted within. It had taken Erik only a few days at the beginning of the year to convince the teacher to let him work privately. The man was on the older side and thin and but his personality was large. Erik had played one of his original pieces to persuade Mr. Webber to allow him access to the piano, and the man enthusiastically gave permission. Laughing, the man had clasped his hand over Erik's shoulder, and all he asked in return was that Erik remember him when Erik became famous.

Erik readily agreed.

So every day, while Mr. Webber would teach his class in one room, Erik would be practicing in the other. When class would end, the instructor would come into the next room and make Erik go to lunch to eat but never argued when he came back after to practice some more. Erik would use the time to ask Webber questions he had or would play a piece to ask what the instructor thought. The man always gave Erik great constructive criticism.

Monday was no exception.

"You're playing a little heavily today." Mr. Webber noted as he entered the room, resting at the entrance to watch Erik.

Erik paused in his playing and turned around on the bench. He held up his bandaged hands so that the instructor could see.

"Apparently gravel is sharper than one would think." Erik replied, bringing his hands back down.

Mr. Webber tsk'd at him and motioned for Erik to move over on the bench so that he could sit down. He sat facing the piano and Erik stayed facing away from it, watching the pianist play a few notes before turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"You want to explain to me how that happened?"

"I fell." Erik replied simply. It wasn't a completely lie, he did fall to the ground. He only left out the part that he fell because he was pushed.

Mr. Webber considered him for a few moments but Erik didn't add anything, eventually he turned away with a sigh. He began playing a tempo.

"I suppose then you will not be practicing your violin until they have completely healed."

Erik could tell that the instructor was telling him, not asking him so he nodded.

"Yes, sir." He agreed.

"Shall we instead practice working on that voice of yours?" Mr. Webber continued as he played.

"I-I feel that I am not cut out for being a singer, sir. I'm more of a person who enjoys the background work." Erik protested.

"Nonsense! You wish to get acquainted with instruments of an orchestra do you not? Well, the voice is another instrument within its mix!" He encouraged as he began playing a set of notes from a popular musical that Erik recognized.

"Now come on! Start from the top!"

His last class was theatre. Mr. Khan was a stern man from Persia who didn't seem like the type who would teach such a subject. But he did, and he taught it well. Erik had signed up for the class because he was interested in musicals and the tech that went into making performances spectacular. Being a high school, there wasn't much that went into special effects, but Erik was hopeful to change that while he was there. He enjoyed building and music, and he believed that theatre was a good way to combine the two.

Erik never did the acting assignments given to the rest of the class, so his grade consisted of what he did within the auditorium with the tech. Mr. Khan had protested heavily the first few weeks, but soon stopped as he noted that Erik actually made the tech better rather than worse.

Still, he would bug him every once in a while to see if he could get Erik to do an acting piece. So far, he's been able to deny the instructor at every attempt. Though Erik has thought about doing as he asked, he did let Erik have basically free range inside the theatre after all.

Meh, maybe when Mr. Khan showed him a piece that sounded interesting to Erik.

The final bell rang, telling Erik that the school day was over. He didn't pause in what he was doing however, even as he heard Mr. Khan enter through the doors that connected the backstage to his classroom.

"Erik?" Erik heard Mr. Khan call out in his deep accented voice.

Eventually, Erik saw him walk onto the stage and to its center, turning his head side to side trying to locate him.

"Up here." He announced from his spot on the stage light beam. He sat straggling the beam, tugging on a couple wires that had gotten tangled on the light he was trying to fix.

Quickly, Mr. Khan whipped around and glanced upwards. He gaped when he spotted Erik.

"How'd you get up there?! Get down now!"

"Hold on, let me just—"

"Now Erik!"

Sighing, Erik let go of the wires and began to shift so that he could climb down.

"Wait!" Mr. Khan halted him. He scanned around for something, when he didn't find it he turned back to Erik. "Where's the ladder?"

Erik shrugged. "I didn't use one."

The theatre instructor spluttered out words Erik couldn't hear, but raised his finger to point at him. "Stay there. I'll be right back."

Well, that's contradictory to what he said earlier, Erik thought as he watched the instructor head towards the back, but stayed put.

A few minutes later, Mr. Khan returned, bringing a ladder with him. He opened it and set it next to where Erik sat.

"Now come down." He puffed, a little out of breath.

Cautiously, Erik turned so that he could get on the ladder. It was harder then he thought, but then again, he was use to climbing with whatever angles he could find, not being forced to work his way around a set way. He said as much to Mr. Khan

"This is more trouble for me then if you would have allowed me to climb my own way down." he explained, finally making it to a comfortable position so that he could come the rest of the way down. As he did, he heard Mr. Khan let out an exasperated sigh.

"You have your 'own way'?"

Erik reached the bottom and faced the instructor. "Yes, I have done the climb multiple times before."

Mr. Khan frowned at him. "That's not safe for you to do Erik, especially when no one else is around."

Erik shrugged again in reply, waiting to see if he'll get punished.

Mr. Khan rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "I'm not going to tell anyone Erik, so relax."

Erik hadn't realize how stiff he was until it was mentioned. He forced his shoulders to relax, but still waited.

"I wanted to come get you, and talked to you about something you might be interested in."

"It's not another play scene, is it?" Erik hesitated.

Mr. Khan shook his head.

"Nah, I was going to ask you if you would be interested in working for me."

Erik stared at the instructor, not knowing what to say. Saying that he was expecting this would be a lie. Luckily, Mr. Khan continued.

"You already do a lot of stuff for the stage that I would've had to report to the front office on getting them fixed. You have not only fixed some things but you have made them better. It's not like I'm going to pay you a full salary, but figured you might be interested in earning a little extra cash."

Erik thought about what the instructor was offering him. It didn't sound like a bad deal. He would be able to continue to do what he wanted, but get money out of it as well. He certainly knew he could use the money.

"Will I be able to do what I want, how I want?" Erik probed.

"How about you save the things that need a ladder for times I can come watch you." The instructor compromised, rolling his eyes upwards to look back at the light beam.

When Erik opened his mouth to argue, Mr. Khan raised an eyebrow at him. "I'll let you deconstruct the trap door and listen to your ideas on how to make it better."

"Deal!" Erik agreed quickly and eagerly, smiling with all his teeth.

 **Recognize anyone? I would hope so! Next chapter Raoul and Christine are back and it'll be in Christine's POV after a short part in Erik's. Hope you enjoyed it enough for a review! They are greatly loved and appreciated!**


	5. Happy Birthday Meg

Happy Birthday Meg

Erik enjoyed working for Mr. Khan. It was nothing official, of course, but he was doing what he loved and earning a little money doing it. He's been working unofficially for the theatre teacher for a few months now. Summer had come and gone, during which he had been able to convince Mr. Webber and Mr. Khan to allow him to come at least once a week. Mr. Webber had easily agreed to have his star student want to attend more sessions when he wasn't obligated to, even agreeing to meet up with Erik three times a week. Mr. Khan had been more difficult.

"You don't want to enjoy your summer off?" he had asked.

"What better way to enjoy it, then to be here?" Erik countered. "I love working on the equipment and not being limited to only an hour a day would be great. You don't have to pay me, if that'll be a problem."

Mr. Khan hadn't said anything for a few moments but in the end he nodded his consent. "Okay. I'll be here once a week for a few hours during which you can come. I'll still pay you, since you're saving me a lot of trouble."

"Can I go to the higher levels without the ladder?" Erik pushed.

"No."

Erik had shrugged, it had been worth a shot.

So Erik had spent the summer working with Mr. Khan in the theatre on Thursdays for serval hours, and he spent Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons with Mr. Webber, who had recently gotten more insistent with Erik training on his vocal skills.

"You're good Erik. Excellent in fact, but I want you to be amazing! Spectacular!" Mr. Webber had lectured at one of the summer sessions.

"Why?" Erik questioned genuinely curious.

"Because with a voice like yours and with enough practice, you can be a real star! A siren among humanity!" the music instructor claimed.

"But I want to be the composer, not the singer!" Erik objected.

"Maybe so," Mr. Webber consented. "But voices are powerful things Erik. And within music? It might be the most powerful portion of all."

Erik had started taking the singing lessons more seriously after that.

He also started using the money he made from working for Mr. Khan to buy a public bus pass. It was pretty expensive for Erik, but it lasted a full year and he had gotten a student discount. He was able to go to the library a lot more that summer. Sometimes he was even able to dragged Antoinette with him, though they would split as soon as they got there to go to different sections.

He also used the money to buy more groceries for him and mother. The first couple times he did, he watched mother open the refrigerator after having stocked it with more fresh and healthy foods, and take on a bewildered expression. The first time was when Erik pretended to be asleep on the couch as she stared, she had closed the door then opened it again as if she had imagined seeing all the food. When the food was still there she shot a glance towards him before she grabbed one of the apples and walked into her bedroom. The second time he had filled the refrigerator, Erik had been reading on the couch when mother had walked in, just having woken up. She had opened the door and seeing it stocked again turned to him.

"You're not stealing all this, are you?" she asked, though her tone made Erik believe that she wouldn't have cared very much either way.

"No." he answered. "I got a job working for—"

She held up her hand to stop him. "I don't care. Next time, get regular whole milk, not this fancy non-fat crap in here."

Erik's hands tightened their grip on his book, his jaw clenching as a flare of anger sparked. He forced it down and nodded.

"Yes, mother."

After that, mother would make specific requests here and there but for the majority of it, allowed Erik to decide what to buy. He believed that the more healthy diet helped him grow the couple inches he did that summer. It wasn't a lot but it was something, and he hoped that if he continued, he grow more.

Summer ended and Erik was now a sophomore. He was sad when it begun, because Antoinette had graduated last year and was now going to a dance school in New York, miles away from where Erik was at. She had promised to email him often, but Erik didn't have easy access to a computer so barely a few days after she had left, he was already feeling down.

The only good news about this year was that Mr. Webber and Mr. Khan had been able to make sure that he had the same class times with them as last year. While everything had changed, that at least was the same.

"Hey freak!"

Erik was suddenly shoved into the wall the Monday of first day of school. He was able to keep his balance and raised his head in time to see Buquet's taunting smile as he and Gab walked away.

Okay well, that's also the same.

Sighing, Erik adjusted his backpack before setting off to class.

When October hit, he exited the school one day to find Meg standing by the entrance. Alarmed that she was there by herself, Erik hurried over to her.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. "Why are you alone?"

Meg rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, if you hadn't done you disappearing act after Antoinette left, I wouldn't have felt the need to hunt you down. Mom and dad have been worried and upset since you haven't come over anymore. I know that Antoinette is the one you are friends with, but you could've dropped by at least once to let us know how you've been." Meg scolded.

Guilt raised up within him and Erik hung his head.

"Forgive me, I hadn't thought of what me not showing up would cause you all to think."

Meg glared at him for a few more moments then grinned.

"It's okay. Here I came by to give you this as well."

Reaching into her backpack she brought out a purple envelope which she handed to Erik. He took it and opened it. Inside was a card that he realized was an invitation to Meg's birthday party. It was set for this weekend, today being Wednesday.

Erik suddenly felt ashamed for forgetting about Meg's birthday as well.

"By the way, for you it's not really an invitation. More like a summoning. You have to come." Meg stated. "Think of this as your way to making up the time you haven't come over. Besides, I know mom and dad have been waiting for you to come over."

"Why?" Erik probed with a frown.

Meg shrugged, but the spark in her eyes made him wary. "Come and you'll find out."

She made to walk away, but Erik took her hand to stop her.

"Wait, I'll walk you back, you shouldn't go by yourself."

Meg turned back to him with a grin.

"Oh, dad's just around the corner waiting for me to finish up here."

Erik let her go, smiling at her so that she knew he realized that he had been played. She sent him a wink in return and ran off.

He gazed down at the invitation and began to run in the direction opposite of where he lived.

Christine pressed the doorbell eagerly and waited for someone to get the door. She clutched her present for Meg tightly in her hands while bouncing on the balls of her feet. Raoul, who stood behind her, let out a laugh.

"Calm down will ya? You're acting like a rabbit that has a sugar high!" he joked.

Christine sent him a glare but turned around with a smile when she heard the door open.

"Hello, Mr. Giry!"

"And hello to you Christine. Raoul. Come on in, the party is outback." Meg's father welcomed, ushering them inside before escorting them to the back.

When they got to the backyard, Christine saw that this year's party was carnival theme. There was a bouncy house, popcorn and cotton candy booth, one of those photo booths that had a bunch of crazy props you could use, and games like ring toss and the disk drop game. There were already others there, all of whom Christine recognized from her school.

Mrs. Giry broke away from her spot with talking to one of the other parents and headed her way.

"Christine, Raoul, I'm glad that you were able to come." She greeted with a warm smile. "May I take your present Christine? I'll put it with the others."

Christine nodded while handing Mrs. Giry her present. When she had the gift in her hands, Mrs. Giry gestured towards the party.

"Go on. Have fun. Meg is in the bouncy house."

Grabbing Raoul's hand, Christine raced off towards the bouncy house. The two of them hurried to take off their shoes before climbing inside. Meg was there and so were a couple others. At first, it was hard for Christine to stand up because of the bouncing but she finally managed. Raoul had been able to get to his feet before her, so he was already jumping next to Meg.

"Hey Christine!" Meg beamed as she had made her way to them.

"Hey! I already love the party!" Christine gushed making Meg laugh.

"Yeah, well I was finally able to convince my parents to do the carnival theme. Before, Antoinette had always talked them out of it but she's not here!" Meg singing the last part before breaking off in laughter.

"Don't you miss her?" Raoul asked.

Meg scrunched up her face. "Sometimes, I guess. But we basically text every day and have been able to skype at least twice a month, so it's not like I can't talk to her. But I guess I miss having her be here."

At the mention of Antoinette, Christine was reminded of another. Glancing around, she tried to find him through the netting of the bouncy house but it was difficult.

"Is her friend here? The one who wears a mask?"

Meg raised her eyebrow knowingly. "You mean Erik? No he's not here, but he's supposed to come. He knows that if he doesn't, mom and dad will be disappointed in him. And if Antoinette were to find out, he knows she'll chew him out first change she gets. So yeah, I'll say he's coming."

"Shame that's he's not here yet." Raoul added with an attempt at a flirty grin. "I'll have to be sure to stick around. Last time I saw him, he was a mess and I still thought he was cute. Can't imagine what he looks like all cleaned up."

Christine shook her head at him with an exaggerated sigh while Meg snorted.

"You might not actually get to see him. Since Antoinette isn't here anymore, he'll probably come to say his hellos and leave." Meg responded with a smirk.

"Then I best be sure to be a part of those hellos." Raoul countered with a cheeky grin and the three friends laughed.

Halfway through the party, Christine noticed Mr. Giry come up and whisper something into Meg's ear as she played a game of ring toss. Whatever he said must have been good news because Meg perked up and began to run to the house, abandoning her game. Mr. Giry let out a chuckle before following her.

Curious, Christine nudged Raoul who was currently trying to figure out how to get the big prize from the disk drop. Gaining his attention, she motioned for him to follow and they made their way to the house. They went inside and heard voices coming from the living room by the front door.

When they got closer they were able to make out the words being spoken.

"Boy, I'm disappointed with this long no show from you." Mr. Giry criticized.

"Forgive me, sir. I'll admit, that I was too upset with Antoinette's absence that I didn't think about coming over. Plus school, of course" a voice responded sheepishly.

Christine and Raoul leaned against the wall and peeked out the through the door to see. Inside, the Giry family excluding Antoinette were standing together in front of the couch where another was sitting on it. Christine recognized Erik.

She had to admit, that he looked a lot nicer then when she last saw him. She was even sure he grew a little, he was still short though…

"We're not mad." Mrs. Giry reassured smoothly.

"Either way, I'm here to wish Meg a happy birthday." Erik stated.

He curled his finger towards Meg to have her come to him. Meg did so, with a skip in her step.

"Now. Close your eyes and hold out you arm." Erik instructed.

Meg did so instantly, Christine couldn't see what he did from the angle Raoul and her were in but that was soon solved. Erik told Meg to open her eyes and Meg let out a happy gasp.

"Oh, how lovely Erik." Mrs. Giry admired.

Meg held up her arm and Christine could see what was given. It was a bracelet that was a golden band, closing 3/4s of the way. It had two curved braids within the metal, giving it a simple design.

"I know it's not much." Erik admitted. "But I figured—"

"I love it! Thank you!" Meg interrupted, twisting her wrist this way and that to see the bracelet in different lighting.

Mrs. Giry came up to her and whispered something in her ear. Meg nodded and went to the other side of the living room before returning.

"Now it's your turn." Meg declared.

Erik squinted at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Meg giggle in reply and Christine noticed that Meg has had her hands behind her since walking back.

"Happy Birthday, darling." Mrs. Giry announced and Meg presented a small wrapped box from behind her.

Erik's eyes widened.

"We know your birthday is in August, so we had to hold onto your gift until we had you here." Mr. Giry explained.

"I couldn't, this is Meg's day." Erik protested, holding his hands up as if to repel the box.

"Yeah well, your day was back in August and you never came over for it, so take the gift!" Meg retorted with a pout, pushing the present into Erik's hands.

Erik stared at the present in his hands as if it was going to bite him. Hesitantly, he tore open the paper and opened the box. When he did, he stood from the couch shaking his head wildly.

"No! This is too much! I cannot accept such a gift!" he stammered, trying to hand the gift back to Mr. Giry, but the man took hold of his arms lightly.

"Calm down, son. It's not a problem for us to give you a phone. We've actually been trying to find an excuse to give you one for the past couple years." Mr. Giry enlightened.

"But," Erik faltered, still staring at the Giry's with wide eyes.

"Darling, its fine. This way, you'll be able to stay in contact with Antoinette a lot easier. Wouldn't you like that?" Mrs. Giry persuaded.

Christine saw Erik pause after hearing that. He looked down at the phone that was still in the box for a second then nodded timidly. Mrs. Giry clapped her hands together with a grin.

"Great! It's decided then. The phone is under our family plan so it comes with unlimited data, talk and text. We already put all our numbers in your contacts and your number is on all of ours." Mrs. Giry then wagged a finger at him playfully.

"Now don't think you'll be able to go for so long again without at least sending us a text. You have the means now, so you better be using them." She warned sternly.

Erik grinned softly. "Yes, madam. Thank you."

 **Here's the next chapter for you all. I hoped you enjoyed it and will leave a review!**


	6. Opps I've Fallen

Opps I've Fallen

"You know it's pretty ironic." Meg chirped in. "You haven't been over because Antoinette wasn't here but if you had come, you would have seen her a lot sooner."

Erik frowned at her. "How was I to know that was the case."

Meg lifted her arms in a dramatic shrug, but had a meaningfully smile.

Suddenly, the phone in the box rung, causing Erik to jump and almost dropped it. Christine heard Raoul snicker next to her, so hit his shoulder to make him quite again. He shot her a scowl but remained silent.

She watched as Erik stared at the phone in shock, turning to the Giry's who were gesturing him to hurry up and answer the call, all wearing big grins. Hurriedly, Erik took the phone out of the box and pressed the button that answered the call.

" _Hey, short stuff. Miss me?"_

Erik pressed his hand to his mouth, eyes crinkling and watering. When he moved his hand back down, Christine felt her heart skipped a beat.

"Damn, that's some smile. Did he light up the room with it, or is that just me?" She heard Raoul whisper above her and she couldn't help but agree.

"Dear Antoinette, you a sight to behold!"

" _I'll say! I'm wearing sweatpants and probably have coffee stains on the shirt I'm wearing from all the late nights I've been pulling."_

Erik's chuckle was watery and he tried wiped his eyes, but the mask was giving him a hard time. Christine was curious what he would do and was amazed when he easily slipped the mask off.

Christine didn't see his face right away because as Erik grabbed the mask to removed it, he did so in one smooth motion where he took it off and was instantly covered with his arm.

"Here you go, darling." Mrs. Giry came to Erik's side, offering him a tissue.

When he took it, Christine got a look at his face. Having to force down a gasp she heard Raoul struggle to do the same. She stared and watched stunned as Erik cleaned up his face, the smile present and she heard Antoinette's laughter on the phone.

"Come on. Let's give them some privacy." Christine heard Mr. Giry state.

Alarm flooded through her. She grabbed Raoul's hand and the two of them ran towards the backyard. Seeing the bathroom, Christine dragged Raoul inside and shut the door. Both of them were breathing heavily, less so because of the actually run but because of the adrenaline rush that had come with their panic.

"That could've ended pretty badly." Raoul puffed, trying to regain his breath.

"Yeah, I don't think the Giry's and Erik would've been happy that we were eavesdropping." Christine added, biting her lip. "Especially since we saw what Erik looked like. He doesn't seem like the type to show his face to just anyone."

Raoul shrugged. "I think he looks pretty cool. Sure, his face wasn't handsome in the usual sense but he looks like he could go on stage as a horror victim with no problem."

Christine cringed at his wording. "I don't think he'll appreciate the compliment."

"I said he looked cool!" Raoul protested and Christine shook her head at him in defeat.

"I still think he's cute! I mean, did you see that smile! That smile!" Raoul elaborated, waving his hands as if to emphasize his point.

"Yeah…" Christine agreed dreamily, thinking of Erik's face as soon as he realized that he was talking to Antoinette.

"Whoa, hold on." Raoul suddenly squinted at her, hands resting on his hips. "You like him too?!"

Christine felt her cheeks heat up. "Well, yeah!"

"Oh, so now you're my competition?" Raoul leered at her. "I thought we were such great friends! Now you're going to make me have to destroy you."

"You don't even know if he's gay or bi!" Christine huffed. "Odds are that he's completely straight, so you're totally wasting your time!"

"People realized that they're gay _all_ the time." He countered. "Maybe he's one of them that only needs a little push!"

The two preteens glared at each other. Then Christine began giggling.

"Are we really having this fight? We're fighting over someone who basically doesn't know we exist!"

Raoul straightened at that with sheepish grin. "Yeah, I guess we are. Oh man, we're such divas aren't we?"

Christine giggled some more. "Yep. Truce?"

"Truce."

Christine leaned forward the same time as Raoul did, giving each other a peck on the other's cheek then pulled back. Once she did, she leaned against the sink, Raoul taking a spot on the bathtub edge.

"What are we going to do?"

Raoul shrugged. "This will probably be a lot harder than it sounds. We go to different schools, plus we're almost three years younger than him so he probably will see us as kids."

Christine grimaced. "Yeah that's not a great start. This will probably take a long time. It'll be a couple more years before we're even going to the same school as him!"

"And by then he'll be a senior." Raoul added now tapping his chin with his finger.

"Maybe, we can start with getting to know him first." Christine suggested. "Technically, we've only met the one time, and that was when he wasn't at his best."

"Yeah! Sounds like a plan! Though, if he's open to it, I'll date him in a heartbeat!" Raoul declared, puffing out his chest and giving a sharp nod.

"Let's try starting off with being his friend first." Christine decided.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that'll probably be better." Raoul deflated, scratching at his cheek before raising the same hand into a fist. "I declare Operation Befriend Erik to Later Date Him is a go!"

Christine stared at him in disbelief. "Are we really going to call it that? Why do we even have to have an "operation" in the first place?"

"Well, we have to have a game plan right? And that's like a mission which always have code names!" Raoul stated, rolling his eyes at having to explain.

"That name is not a codename! It gives away the exact plan!" Christine challenged crossing her arms across her chest.

"You know what—" a knock suddenly came on the door, startling the two of them.

"Christine? Raoul? Is that you in there?" Mrs. Giry's voice came through on the other side. "Meg's been looking for you. What are you doing in there?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Giry." Christine hastened to say. She hurried to the door and opened it, giving the woman a smile. "We needed a place to talk real quick. Sorry for the trouble, we'll go find Meg now."

Mrs. Giry nodded and backed away so that the two could leave. They went back outside and searched for Meg. Raoul elbowed Christine in her side gently and when she turned to him, he gestured off to the side with his head. Christine glanced over and saw a certain boy appearing to be searching for someone as well. He also looked very uncomfortable, even with his mask covering most of his expression, among the preteens. Christine turned back to Raoul, who was now smirking.

"Operation BELDH is on!"

"What's beldh?" Christine questioned, as they made their way to Erik.

"It's the acronym of the mission, duh!" Raoul answered.

"That's not even a word!" she hissed.

"Acronyms don't have to be!" Raoul argued.

Erik had settled a little ways from the rest of the party, standing with his hands in his pockets under one of the trees that sat on a miniature hill. His eyes were roaming over the occupants, eyes slightly squinted at trying to make out all the faces. Christine pulled Raoul to the side so that he wouldn't see them moving towards him, but that didn't work.

"Are you trying to sneak up on me?" Erik asked them, as they closed the distance to about two meters away.

Christine was surprised, she didn't think he had seen them because he hadn't moved to indicate that he had. She nor Raoul answered. Erik swung his head to face them, golden eyes focusing on them expectedly.

Quickly she shook her head. "We wanted to say hi."

"Hello." Erik spoke the word slowly and Christine found it pleasant.

"Do you remember us?" she asked.

"Christine and Raoul." Erik acknowledged with a nod. "You're the ones that helped me when I was getting beaten by Buquet and Gab."

Okay, Christine really liked how her name sounded on Erik's lips.

"Good, that's good." Wow, now that she was in front of him, she had no idea on what to say. "Um, you're feeling better now right?"

Stupid! Of course, he's better! It's been months!

But Erik gave her a small grin that made her cheeks warm.

"All better. It was mostly bruises and a few cuts. Though I must thank the two of you again. I might have ended up a lot worse if it wasn't for you two."

"Don't mention it!" Christine told him, thinking she sounded a little too high.

"Do they give you a hard time now?" Raoul joined in.

Erik's eyes got darker and the grin turned to a frown. "Unfortunately yes, but not nearly to the extent as the scene you came across. That was them at their most brutal."

"Well, you are still kind of short." Raoul teased, making his way to Erik. When he got to him, he placed his hand on Erik's shoulder, whose eyes widened at the contact but didn't move away. "You're, what? Fifteen now and we're the same height."

Erik shifted his shoulder making Raoul's hand fall and took a couple steps away from them.

"Is my height always going to be the joke of our conversations?" Erik asked, his fingers messing with a ring that was on the thumb of his other hand.

"Only if I stay taller then you." Raoul answered easily with a playful grin.

"Oh stop it Raoul." Christine scolded him as she walked up to stand with them.

"Why do you dress like that?" Raoul suddenly probed. "I mean, today you can use it being Meg's birthday to dress up but you were wearing something similar last time we saw you."

"Just because I don't have a lot of money, doesn't mean I have to dress like I don't." Erik answered, eyes shifting to look behind them as if trying to find an escape.

"Oh okay, cool." Raoul replied with a grin either ignoring that Erik looked uncomfortable or didn't noticed, Christine couldn't tell. "Where'd you get them then?"

"Goodwill." Erik deadpanned, meeting Raoul's eyes for the moment. "You'll be surprise by how much good quality items are donated there."

Raoul laughed at that and was about to say something else but Erik's caught something behind them, relief obvious in his eyes.

"Meg!" he called out, raising an arm for good measure. He turned to them with a polite nod.

"Excuse me, I must be going now." And with that, Erik brushed past Christine and she and Raoul were left alone.

"Ooh, we got a slippery one on our hands." Raoul speculated, as they watched Erik jog up to Meg and begin talking to her.

"I blame you." Christine answered easily. "You're pushy sometimes. Probably scared him off."

Christine saw Meg nod with a grin to whatever Erik said.

"Harsh, but not wrong." Raoul accepted. "That's what makes us the perfect duo. You're the calm to my storm, and when we work together…"

"He won't stand a chance." Christine finished.

Erik began heading back inside and Meg headed towards them, the grin becoming a scowl. She stopped in front of them, hands on her waist with a disapproving pout.

"Where the heck have you guys been?! I've been looking for you for ages!"

"Oh, you know, hanging around." Raoul shrugged.

When Meg opened her mouth to scold them some more Christine interrupted.

"We're sorry. We were talking inside the house and when we came back out we started talking to Erik." Christine apologized.

Meg raised her eyebrow at them.

"Yeah, I saw that. Thanks for totally making him uncomfortable guys, he's really shy around new people."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Raoul insisted. "I think we had an awesome conversation."

Both of Meg's eyebrow rose now.

"He told me to tell him when you guys come over, so that he knew not to come."

Christine had to admit that the statement hurt. Did they really make such a bad impression?

"He said that?" Raoul whispered, biting his lip.

"Nah, he was only saying bye cause he had to leave." Meg confessed with a smile.

Air rushed out of Christine's lungs, in relief. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath.

"You little demon!" Christine accused, starting towards Meg.

Meg let out a laugh then began running away, Christine and Raoul chasing after her.


	7. New Friends

New Friends

Erik went back to the apartment with a spring in his step. Meg had enjoyed the gift he gotten for her and he received a gift in return, and what a gift it is! A phone, and not any phone, but the latest model out there! While Erik was not really a tech person towards social media, and never having even the cheapest mobile, he was eager to get back and find out what made the phone tick. With the unlimited date he didn't even have to worry about the fact that he didn't have internet.

Really, the Giry's were far too kind to him.

And, most importantly, it allowed him to speak to Antoinette! What a day indeed!

Sure Antoinette had scolded him a little for not having come over to the Giry's before Meg's birthday but Erik was fine with that. She had been smiling by the end of it. They summarized about what had been going on for the past few months. Antoinette talked very enthusiastically about her school, though she complained that sometimes her roommates were the most annoying beings on the planet. Yet, she wouldn't change it for the world.

Erik in turn told her about how things were going with school, mostly focusing on his music and theatre classes.

"I miss you." He had admitted once they had decided to get off.

Antoinette had given him a small smile.

"Miss you too. I've been finding it most strange when, for the past few months, I hadn't been woken up once to see you sitting outside my window."

Erik chuckled and they said their goodbyes.

He had gone out to the backyard to say his goodbyes to the Giry's, first searching for Meg. While he searched, he was taken by surprise at the appearance of two of her friends. Christine and Raoul. He had recognized them immediately, though didn't understand why they had come to him. He remained confused with their presence when he had spotted Meg, and took his leave from the pair.

He said his goodbye to Meg he went inside the house where the Giry parents were and took his leave of them as well. Though Mrs. Giry refused to let him leave until he accepted the food plate she had made for him.

So now he was walking back with a new phone and charger in his pockets and carrying a plate that was stacked with so much food, Erik was positive that he could make multiple meals out of it. He shortly got back to the complex and made his way to the apartment. Once inside, he took note that mother wasn't in at the moment which he saw as a good thing. It left him time to mess with his new phone.

After putting the food away in the refrigerator, that was what he did.

Erik didn't spend too much time on it, but enough that he was satisfied that he knew all he needed to know about the basics and special features of the phone. He made sure to hide the charger in his travel bag under the couch and kept the phone in his pocket. He didn't want mother to know that he had one. He was unsure about what her reaction would be if she were to find out but didn't image it being a good one.

So he put the phone from his mind, picked up one of his books, and began reading.

Later that night, as Erik was reheating some of the items that were on his plate given to him by Mrs. Giry, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Curious, he took the phone out and saw that it was a text from an unrecognized number. He unlocked the phone with a frown.

Surely it wasn't any of the Giry's. He already had their numbers, but they were also the only ones who knew his number. He opened the text and saw that it was a group message with two messages already up.

 _Hey Erik!_

 _Hi Erik._

He frowned wondering if he should answer or not. Whoever it was obviously knew who he was. Curious, he decided to reply.

 _Who is this?_

He got an answer before he was able to put his phone down.

 _Opps. Forgot that u wouldn't know the #s. This is Christine._

 _Talk about caution though. I could practically hear the suspicion through the text. Raoul._

 _And how did you two get this number? –E_

 _We asked Meg to give it to us. –C_

 _Yeah it didn't even take a lot to convince her. –R_

 _And why would you ask for my number? To which you asked someone else for it instead of asking me yourself. –E_

Since he didn't get a reply right away, he put his phone back in his pocket and took out his heated dinner. He felt his phone vibrate but didn't look at it. It continued to vibrate, letting him know that he received multiple messages. It was only when he sat down and was ready to eat that he opened up the messages again.

 _Dude that's not fair. –R_

 _We didn't know how to contact you after you had left the party. –C_

 _Yeah and we figured that Meg would probably know a way and she gave us the #. –R_

 _We also didn't think you would give it to us if we had asked you directly and we want to get to know you. –C_

Erik stared at the texts for a few minutes, reading them over as he ate a few bites.

 _Why? –E_

 _Man, you r hard to please! –R_

 _Cause we want to be ur friend. –C_

 _Yeah you seem like a cool guy! –R_

 _You don't know enough of me to say that. –E_

Erik was surprised by how fast of a reply his last text got him. He received two texts almost at the same moment.

 _Then let us find out. –C_

 _No harm in finding out. –R_

Again, Erik stared at their text for a few moments then made his decision.

 _Okay. –E_

"I'm kind of regretting that I told them yes." Erik admitted to Antoinette while they skyped on their phones three weeks later.

Erik was currently sitting in the public library, having gone to pick up a couple books he had reserved about magic tricks to see what they said about levitation and smoke tricks. Antoinette had sent him a text, asking if he was free to skype and Erik agreed instantly knowing that he had to take any opportunity she offered because that meant she wasn't busy for who knows how long. He had found a secluded spot in the math section and sent her the okay to call him. Erik sat on the floor against a bookcase and wall, having his knees up against his chest. He had listened to Antoinette say what was going on with her before telling her about Christine and Raoul.

Antoinette was now raising her eyebrow at him.

"Why would you be regretting it? Sure, they'll younger then you, but so are you to me and we have a great friendship. Is it because they are Meg's friends too?"

Erik shook his head to deny her words.

"On contraire, I believe that I am becoming better friends with Meg because of them."

"Soo…" Antoinette pushed.

Erik sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "They are always contacting me. Texting me all day, yes even during school!, and they invite me out every weekend to do something. It's a little overwhelming."

Antoinette smirked on screen.

"Ahh, maybe they have a crush on you! I'm so proud of you!"

Erik scoffed and glared at her. "Thanks for taking this seriously."

Antoinette laughed. "Sorry, but I think they just really like you and are excited about their new friend, so might be overdoing it a little. Plus you are going to different schools right now so they don't get to see you like they see each other, maybe they feel the need to fill in the gap by texting you so much."

"But they don't need to tell me everything!" Erik stressed.

"Maybe they're trying to prove the 'you had to be here' saying wrong." Antoinette suggested with a light tone, telling Erik that she was having way too much fun with this.

Erik let out a groan and placed his head on his knees.

"I think you're enjoying this too much. Do you like it when I'm confused?"

"Honestly? Yeah a little." Antoinette raised her hands in a placating gesture because he glared at her. "What? We both know you're a genius in a lot of fields. It's funny to watch when life throws you off, mostly because it's due to something within the social realm."

"I don't need to be social." He grumbled, his cheek pressed against his knee. "I have you."

Antoinette's eyes softened. "And you'll always have me. But seriously Erik, is this such a bad thing? They seem to like you a lot and you can use friends who are not currently miles away from where you're at."

"I guess." He mumbled reluctantly.

Antoinette now rolled her eyes. "Look, if it bothers you so much, tell them to stop sending so many texts. And you can say no to going out every weekend you know. I'm sure they'll survive the disappointment."

"Dear Antoinette, what would I do without you?" Erik grinned.

"Oh, crash and burn. Definitely." She replied instantly and firmly.

Erik and she shared a quiet laugh after that.


	8. Ladders are a Hazard

Ladders are a Hazard

Serval months past, Erik continued to get bored at school, except for the times he was with Mr. Webber or Mr. Khan. With both of their encouragement, Erik began working on his own musical. He knew it was going to take him awhile to finish it but he was confident that when he did, it would be spectacular. Thanksgiving and Christmas, he spent with the Giry's. Normally he wouldn't, but Antoinette had come home for the holidays and the parent Giry's basically demanded it. However, he in turn demanded that they not give him any gifts as he saw the phone being more than enough for many Christmases. It took some time to get them to agree but they eventually did.

He hung out with Christine and Raoul often, though not as much as those first few weeks. He explained how all the texts and going out exhausted him, and they toned both of the parts down, to which Erik was grateful. So the two did not text him during school hours but would ask him how his day's been and he would reply and ask in kind. Instead of meeting up every weekend, they did so every other week if they were all free. And Meg would come along as well.

Christine and Raoul were quite the pair, Erik had soon learned. They were opposites in a lot of ways yet were the best of friends. Christine was soft spoken while Raoul was loud, he being impulsive while she took the time to think. Often Erik would watch them argue over the simplest stuff but would go back to being friends within a few minutes. If one argument was particularly long, they would pull Erik into the argument to be the deciding factor. He never choose a side, but was always able to somehow get them to calm down, and Meg would watch the whole scene play out with an amused spark in her eyes.

Either way, Erik saw them as his friends and wouldn't change them for the world.

It was the week before spring break. Students slowing down their productivity as the weeklong vacation came within their sights. Even teachers were somewhat idler in their classes as the week came to a close, though everyone had at least one teacher who was a stickler and called out the students who lazed through class. For Erik, that was his math teacher, but since Erik didn't really care for the break, he didn't display the same idleness as the others.

He was actually not looking forward to the break. Antoinette had told him that she was unable to return and both Mr. Webber and Mr. Khan were travelling so he couldn't do his lesson or his work. Mother was also currently jobless because she had too many customer complaints against her so for the past couple weeks she had been sitting around the apartment, not even looking to see if there were openings anywhere. And Erik had learned years ago to not try to push her on finding another when she was in that state. He knew that the Giry's wouldn't mind it if he spent the week with them, but he didn't want to be a bother. So he planned on spending a lot, _a lot_ , of time in the library that week.

The Friday that ended with the beginning of spring break, Erik believed that a little over half the students showed up for class and more were gone by the time lunch rolled by. Erik treated it like a normal day. Going to Mr. Webber and spending lunch with him practicing whatever the instructor wanted him to and spending theatre trying to figure out a way for the stage sets to unravel easier, especially since the spring play was going to be performed soon. This year's choice had been "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Erik himself wasn't too fond of Shakespeare, what with the language and the fact that he didn't write musicals, but it was what was chosen.

The final bell rang to dismiss the day, but Erik stayed put where he was. The backdoor opened a crack and Mr. Khan stuck his head in.

"I'm going to go to the front office real quick. I'll check to see if you're still here when I get back but feel free to leave when you want." He told him.

Erik only gestured for him to go away, and Mr. Khan chuckled and closed the door again.

With one finger tapping his chin, Erik stared at the chain of pulleys contemplating how to rework them to need less but still be easy to pull. Catching sight of a tangle of knots in the rope, Erik sighed and made his way to them. Moving the ladder over to the spot, he climbed up until he was at the appropriate height and begun trying to untangle them.

A few minutes later, Erik was no closer to getting the disaster that was the tangle of knots, the door opened again. He didn't pause in what he was doing, but did think that Mr. Khan sure made a shorter trip then usual…

The ladder shook violently, causing Erik to drop the knot and clutch the ladder tightly, a hot wave of fear engulfing him. The shaking stopped and he heard laughter below him. He turned to glance down and zeroed in on Joseph Buquet who was maliciously smirking up at him from below as he held the ladder.

"Hey freak." Buquet sneered. "Want to come down from there so that we can talk face to face."

Horror filled Erik and he clenched the ladder tighter, making his way up rather than down.

"Oh wait, I forgot. You don't have a face, do you?" Buquet taunted, giving the ladder another shake, causing Erik to almost slip. "And even if you did, what a mess it must be if you have to wear a mask to cover it up. Now come down!"

Buquet started tilting the ladder to the side, but Erik was close enough to the top that he was able to grab onto one of the light beams. He heart pounded in his chest as he hung from the beam, hearing the ladder crash to the floor beneath him.

"You shouldn't be in a school, you belong in a freak show." Buquet mocked. "Living with all the other freaks, they would probably make you their ring leader. The leader freak among freaks."

Erik managed to pull himself up on the beam, breathing heavily. His hands balled into fists as anger rose up in him along with the fear that was making him sweat.

"Stop it." Erik gritted out, but Buquet heard him.

Buquet pretended to look shocked. "It speaks! The monster can talk!"

Then he smiled cruelly. "Let's see if the freak can handle a little bit of light."

Suddenly, a bright light was shone directly at Erik. Startled and blinded he raised his hand to block the light but had leaned too far back and lost his balance. His foot slipped on the beam bar and he began to fall. Frantically, he reached out for the beam, but his hand was slippery from his sweat. His stomach rose as he fell and he crashed onto the stage.

He landed on his foot and let out an agonizing shout as pain exploded through his ankle and leg. Curling forward, he reached to grip his ankle but a pair of hands grasped him and pulled him to his knees.

His eyes met Buquet's delighted ones.

"Oh look at what you've done! Well, at least now you can't get away."

Buquet pulled his hand back and punched the side of Erik's head. Buquet released him as it struck so Erik went down like stone. Eyes still weak from the earlier light and the stars that entered his vision from the punch, he tried to find something that he could use to defend himself against Buquet. Pain, fury, and terror making him panicky.

In any case, Buquet seemed to believe he could take his time.

He delivered a kick to Erik's shoulder that pushed him onto his back. His vision had started to come back and he saw that Buquet was going to kick him again. He lunged to the side, the foot missing him by a inch.

"Stay still freak!" Buquet snapped reaching out to grab him.

In front of him, Erik saw a length of rope and dove for it. Seizing it, he turned in time to wrap it around Buquet's wrist.

"What the—"

Not pausing, Erik used the rope to pull Buquet to him, as he fell Erik threw the rope around Buquet neck, trapping his arm against his chest. Buquet fought against him but Erik held on tighter, desperate to keep him from getting up.

Eventually, Erik felt Buquet start to weaken, not fighting as much then not struggling at all. Quickly, Erik pushed Buquet off of him, letting the rope fall loose as he crawled away. As he moved away, he found it difficult to put one limb in front of the other, abruptly feeling exhausted and weak now that the danger was over.

Erik heard a strange sound and realized that it was coming from him. He was sobbing from behind his mask and it was causing him problems with his breathing. He ripped the mask off and the tears and snot began streaming down his face instead of over his mask. His ankle burned like a fireplace was inside him, but he glanced back at Buquet but quickly looked away from the still body. He jumped as the sound of the backdoor opening reached his ears.

"Erik? You still here?" Mr. Khan's voice called out and Erik let out a whimper in relief.

"M-Mr. Kh-an." Erik croaked weakly.

The instructor must have heard because footsteps were running towards him instantly. Mr. Khan came onto the stage, freezing upon taking in the sight in front of him. After getting his bearings, he went to Buquet first, seeing as he was the one laying still. He kneeled down to unwrapped the rope from his neck and check his breathing. Once he was satisfied, he stood back up. He came to Erik and kneeled in front of him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked grim, looking him directly in his eyes.

Erik nodded and gestured towards his ankle.

It wasn't until Mr. Khan pulled him in so that he was pressed against the instructor's chest that Erik realized that he was shaking.

And that his mask was still off.

Erik had a sprained ankle.

Joseph Buquet and his minion Gab were expelled.

Buquet was unconscious for six days. By the time he had opened his eyes, he was no longer a student at the school.

Erik had told his side as best as he could remember it. Mostly it turned into a blur but he didn't forget about how he had felt during the time.

Buquet and Gab's parents had, of course, tried to take the case into their own hands but the parent Giry's took Erik's side. Erik kind of felt sorry for the principal during the whole process.

Luckily, Mr. Khan was the one who was able to bring light to the story. Apparently, there are video cameras inside the auditorium, one pointed directly at the stage. Erik had felt uncomfortable having to watch what had happened, but by the end of it, Buquet and Gab's parents couldn't put up much of an argument.

After all, there was a clear video clip of Buquet shaking the ladder, tilting it so that Erik would fall, and then beating him after he had fallen until Erik was able to knock him unconscious. In another clip, it showed Gab being the one to turn on the light beam that Erik had been sitting on, therefore being the cause for him falling.

The audio feed certainly didn't help the case either.

Erik was also grateful for the fact that there was enough distance from the camera point that no one could tell what his face looked like during the part he had taken his mask off.

Both were expelled under the code of endangering another student's life.

Sure it could argue that by choking Buquet with a rope Erik had also endangered the life of a student, but the counter for that was already put out in the open.

It was strictly self-defense. The rope just happened to be the first thing Erik could grab.

He certainly wasn't going to argue the point and neither did Buquet and Gab's parents.

Overall, it was an extensive and exhausting spring break.

Erik spent it at the Giry home, partly because he didn't want to have to go up and down the stairs to his apartment with his ankle and partly because the Giry parents refused to let him until the issue was resolved.

He had returned to the apartment, mother had been home. She looked up from the sandwich she was eating as he entered, taking in his wrapped ankle and crutches.

"I'm not going to be getting any hospital bill am I?" she questioned dully.

Erik's grip on the crutches tightened to causing his knuckles to become almost white. Swallowing harshly, Erik answered coolly.

"No, mother. The Giry's were kind enough to pay."

Mother nodded then turned back to her sandwich.

The Monday after spring break, Erik felt awkward travelling around with the crutches but made do. He got a couple stares but since Buquet and Gab were the only ones to have ever tormented him and they were both gone, he brushed the stares off.

Mr. Webber spent their entire session ranting about what had happened. He expressed anger on all parts. Buquet and Gab, their parents, the school system for not catching the bullying earlier, and even Erik for not coming forward sooner too.

When he got lectured, he kept his head down.

"I'm sorry. " He whispered, as soon as Mr. Webber had paused to take a breath.

He heard a sigh then felt a hand on top of his head.

"I'm glad that you're okay."

Erik glanced up and met the instructor's sad but warm eyes. He believed him.

Next, it was time for theatre, Erik felt nervous. Having realized that Mr. Khan had seen him unmasked again made him want to avoid the instructor as much as possible. He was able to do it for the most part during spring break, but one couldn't evade a teacher of their class.

Still he tried.

He went to the stage swiftly, not pausing to greet Mr. Khan nor came in during class to ask him any questions.

The final bell rung and Erik began to head to the side exit to dodge the instructor.

"Why have you avoided me today?" Mr. Khan asked from behind Erik as he was about to make his escape.

He must have dismissed the class early, Erik thought.

"You've seen me." Erik whispered, turning his head back. "You saw my face."

The instructor shrugged. "I have seen it before."

Erik let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, and when you did, you looked like you were about to faint from how pale you got."

"I'll admit to not having a positive reaction the first time, but I have long since gotten over it. Here, let me show you."

Mr. Khan began to lift his hand towards Erik's face and he couldn't help but flinch back and Mr. Khan put his hand back down.

The two of them stared at the other for a few moments. Erik didn't know how long they stood there but the tension became too much for him and he wanted to see if the instructor lied.

"Am I not like a monster?!" Erik yelled as he reached up and tore the mask off. "Do I not deserve to be called a freak like Buquet and probably many others think?!"

Mr. Khan stared at him relentlessly, eyes never leaving Erik's face as he stood in front of him. Finally, he spoke.

"I do not see a monster nor a freak in front of me." Mr. Khan stated firmly and slowly. "All I see is fifteen year old boy. Perhaps a short one, but a boy nether less."

This time, as tears came streaming down his cheeks, Erik was chuckling.


	9. Making Some Moves

Making Some Moves

"What do you mean you never watched any of the Marvel movies!?" Raoul stared at Erik like he had grown a second head. Because this is insanity.

Erik shrugged next to him on Meg's bed. Raoul, Christine, and Erik had come over to Meg's house for a movie marathon to celebrate the new Marvel movie that had come out that weekend. While Meg had begun to set up her laptop so that they could all see from her bed, putting in Iron Man, Raoul had asked Erik which one was his favorite. Erik had replied by stating that he did not know cause he's never seen them, which completely broke Raoul's heart. Really it did and he told him as much.

"You're breaking my heart man!" Raoul cried dramatically rolling onto his back to clench his fist over his chest, bunching his shirt. "How could you! You're a villain of your generation, you are!"

Erik rolled his eyes but it was Meg who responded.

"Shush! I'm about to start it! This was _your_ idea!" she scowled.

"You bet it was!" Raoul huffed, but settled back down next to Erik, making sure to align and press his side right up against Erik.

He had the excuse that it was to comfortably fit onto the bed because, surely, it was quite the task to fit four teenagers on one bed, even if it was a queen. Okay yeah, that's a big lie, since Raoul had plenty of space next to him to at least be a few inches away from Erik, but who would give up the opportunity to be right next to their crush?

No one, that's who. Especially when one didn't practically care to hide said crush from the person being crushed on. Not that Raoul planned on saying anything in the open anytime soon, but he wants to have his moments as they come along.

In any case, if that excuse didn't work, he could always say that he doesn't like being close to the edge, or that he needs to be there for a better view of the screen, or to have easy reach of the popcorn bowl that was provided to them by Mrs. Giry, one for him and Erik, another for Christine and Meg.

Anyway, he had a lot of backup excuses, okay.

He was lying on one edge of Meg's bed, Erik lying next to him, then Christine and last was Meg on the other end. They were all lying on their stomachs, each having their own pillow to rest their upper half on so that they were at an angle. The popcorn bowls on the floor in front of them and the laptop sitting on Meg's desk chair a few feet away. Meg had hit play, and the movie began.

Raoul had already seen all the movies a zillion times, he was pretty sure he could recite word for word the entire first Captain America movie, so he allowed his mind to drift a little.

This past summer had been a lazy one for Raoul, though his parents were starting to bother him about looking at jobs. Sheesh! He didn't want to work at least until he was in high school, which will not be until another year! He, Christine, and Meg were going to start eighth grade at the end of summer and Raoul had to admit that he was glad that there was only one more year between going to the same school as Erik.

Of course that probably means that the year will go by especially slowly, but Raoul thought he could do it. It hasn't been all that bad with the whole not sharing schools thing. Erik having a phone sure made things a lot easier and he was almost always willing to hang out with them. Though, Raoul suspected that'll probably change this year, since Erik was going to be a junior.

Apparently, things got pretty crazy once you became a junior, or at least that's what Meg's sister, Antoinette, has told them. It was when you're on your last year of state testing and at the same time, you have to begin looking at colleges to easily apply at the beginning of senior year.

Now that seems like a long ways from now, but Raoul can't help but think that once Erik has graduated he'll leave behind him and Christine, and move on with his life. Raoul hopes he's only being a little pessimistic rather than foreseeing.

Though being able to see into the future would be awesome, Raoul digressed.

The truth was that Raoul nor Christine knew what Erik thought about them. Sure they figured that he saw them as, at the very least, friends by now. But could there be anything more than that? The younger two didn't know. He didn't seem like the dating type, or even, well, any romantic relationship type. Never has he shown interest in girls or boys, which is, in its own way, relieving but all the more confusing as well.

One time, they had asked Erik if he was carrying a torch for Antoinette or something.

Yeah…he had stared at them like they were insane before giving them a firm no.

Well, they could at least be happy that the longtime childhood friend wouldn't be a problem.

Raoul came out of his thoughts by the movement of Erik shifting next to him. He had reached down to get a handful of popcorn. Bringing his hand up, he lifted his head to eat better, exposing part of his neck, which in turn caused Raoul to swallow harshly.

Forcing himself to look away, he turned back to the screen where Tony Stark was getting paralyzed by Obadiah Stane. Ugh. He hated this part, too frickin sad! But he watched and soon the first movie was over.

They were able to finish five movies that day, after each they would stand up and walk around to get more snacks, stretch, restroom, etc, before returning, taking over the same spots and Meg would begin the next movie.

At one point during the last film, Captain America, Raoul noticed that Christine had lean her head in a way that it was resting on Erik's shoulder. Raoul thought it was clever that she had done it during this movie because she knew that it was his favorite so was less likely to notice.

Too bad.

In response and for his own fun, Raoul took his arm and placed it over Erik waist. Erik gave him a curiosity filled side glance but didn't move away or otherwise attempt to remove his arm. Raoul let out a mental whoop and went back to watching the movie.

When the movie finished, Meg was the first to get up. Raoul didn't want to move until Christine did and she was probably thinking the same towards him, and since Erik was too polite to just stand up and move, he was trapped in between them.

Not that Raoul minded that particular piece.

Meg turned on her bedroom light, causing all of them to squint at the sudden light filled room.

Raoul noticed Meg took the three of them in, she gained a mischievous smirk.

"Erik, don't you have to get up early tomorrow to go help Mr. Khan begin putting the trap door back together?"

Suddenly Erik shot up into a sitting position, throwing both Raoul and Christine off of him.

Well, that took care of that, Raoul thought wanting to glare at Meg but Erik might have seen. He watched as Erik scattered around the room to get his things and circling again to make sure he gathered everything.

Letting out a deep breath, Erik turned to them sheepishly.

"Sorry, but I have to go now."

Raoul rolled on the bed to stare at Erik from upside down waving his hand dismissingly as if he wasn't currently greatly missing the warmth Erik's body provided while it was next to his.

"That's okay." Christine replied with a charming smile that made Raoul want to pinch her side. Not too hard of course, but enough to have her smile break. "We'll see you later."

Erik nodded and for some reason began to head to the window.

"Ah, Erik. You know the rules." Meg informed, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow.

Erik gave her a smirk in return, even as he was opening the window. "Since Antoinette has been away, I have not been sneaking in as I usually did. I have come in through the front door, so I believe it is in my right that I can sneak out whenever I wish."

Meg let out an exaggerated sigh and shook her head. "Mom and dad are going to get mad at you, and let you know it next time you come."

Erik, who was now half out the window, one foot in and the other out, sent her a wink. "I'll deal with that next time. All I'm doing is reversing the original agreement."

And with that Erik ducked out the window and was gone.

Man, that's hot, Raoul thought staring at the spot Erik was a few seconds ago.

"Either of you going to tell me how both of you ended up having a crush on Erik?" Meg inquired, bringing Raoul's attention to her.

He stared at her in surprise. Christine must have been doing the same because Meg rolled her eyes and, after removing her laptop and placing it on her desk, sat down in her desk chair.

"Don't look so surprise. You've been really, and I mean _really_ obvious. I'm truly shocked that Erik doesn't seem to have noticed anything."

"Well then we're not that obvious!" Christine argued, she was sitting up on the bed biting her lip nervously.

Meg shot them a look in disbelief. "Both my parents noticed. They think it's cute, by the way. Heck, even Antoinette noticed and she's miles away and is not even seeing everything!" she countered.

"How can Antoinette know!?" Raoul demanded, now sitting up as well.

"My guess is that Erik talks about what we all do together and from that she gets the impression that you like him, because she's asked me questions when we've skyped before. She agrees that Erik doesn't know anything." Meg explained, then she looked up at the ceiling thoughtful. "I guess I should tell you though, that while my parents think the whole situation is kind of cute, I wouldn't be alone with either of them for a while. They see Erik as basically their son, so you might just get the shovel talk from them."

Raoul saw in the corner of his eye that Christine dropped her head into her pillow, probably from embarrassment cause he knows he sure feels it. Though at the mention of getting a shovel talk from the Giry's his face probably took on a more pale shade rather than red.

"We'll be sure to remember that." Raoul told Meg.

"Soo…" Meg drawled out expectantly.

"Soo, what?" Christine's muffled voice asked from where her face was in the pillow.

"How'd the two of you end up crushing on Erik?" Meg probed, arms once again crossed over her chest and she was leaning back into her chair.

"His smile. Definitely a factor." Raoul stated immediately.

"He's kind and smart." Christine added softly, her face no long in her pillow.

"Sassy! Got to love the sass!" Raoul continued.

"What about how he looks?" Meg suddenly cut in, eyes and tone taking on a serious tint that made Raoul anxious.

"He certainly dresses very nicely. I truly don't get how he could wear such hot clothes in the middle of summer. And he's short, but really cute."

Meg glared at him. "I mean his mask. While I have no problem with what's underneath, he wears it for a reason. Can you tell me whether or not you'll be willing to overlook it if you ever saw his face? Wouldn't change your minds, and break his heart?"

He knew that they were in dangerous territory now. Best to answer honestly.

"We've already seen him." he answered.

Meg straightened, glare dropping, and mouth slightly agape. "When?"

"At your birthday party when we were twelve." Christine responded. "We had kind of been outside the living room when you were all inside. We saw his face while he had taken off the mask after he saw Antoinette."

"Huh." Meg acknowledged, leaning back into her chair again. "And?"

Raoul shrugged and replied honestly. "I was caught off guard, sure, but soon got over it."

"Me too." Christine added.

"Hmm…" Meg sat there staring at them for a few moments.

Raoul had to admit that it was a little unnerving since Meg was their friend, but she was also basically the surrogate sister to Erik, and apparently was currently talking to them from that position.

After a while Meg finally shrugged.

"Okay. You're good to go. You can keep going for him."

Raoul raised his eyebrow at her.

"You're acting like we needed your permission in the first place."

Meg laughed and shook her head. "Call me the gatekeeper. I'm the easy one to get through."

"Who'll be the hardest?" Christine asked hesitantly.

"Oh that'll definitely be Antoinette. Call her the dragon of the castle, because I'm pretty sure if she doesn't approve of you, you'll never have a chance with Erik. _EVER_."

Meg laughed but Raoul thought that it was the least funny thing he could've heard.


	10. Whoa, You're What!

Whoa, You're What?!

"I think we need to talk." Christine told Raoul as they walked from school a few weeks into the spring semester. Since their talk with Meg, she had realized something. She thought about for months, though not all the time of course. She would obsess over it but then get distracted, having the topic thrown to the back of her mind, which was probably why it took her so long to make her decision.

Raoul turned to her with desperate look on his face, catching her by surprise as he abruptly dropped to his knees on the sidewalk beside her.

"Don't break up with me!" Raoul cried, gripping her hands in his, looking up at her pleadingly. "I thought we had something special! I'll do anything. Anything!"

Christine stared down at him then sighed. Withdrawing her hands from his, she took a step back to glare at him.

"I'm being serious." She stated. "But I'll give you points on improv and acting skills."

Raoul's distressed demeanor promptly disappeared. Grinning, he stood up and dusted his pants off.

"I better get some points. That actually hurt my knees!" he laughed.

"I want to talk about Erik." Christine told him and the laughter cut off.

He looked at her wary. "What about him?"

Christine sighed and began walking again. Raoul following her.

"Just that! Look at how you reacted from what I said. I know we both really like Erik—"

"Oh? Only like?" Raoul snorted and Christine elbowed his side gently.

"But I don't want it to ruin us!" Christine finished.

Raoul furrowed his brows confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when we finally come around to telling Erik how we feel and he chooses one of us, I don't want that to ruin our friendship." Christine clarified.

Raoul let out his own sigh and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I see what you mean. And that's if he chooses either of us in the first place."

"Well, if he doesn't then that actually solves that problem because we can bond over our broken hearts together." She pointed out, though hoped that it didn't end up being that case.

Raoul grimaced and Christine knew that he didn't want that to happen either.

"Look." She began, taking his hand in her. "We're friends. Best friends. And we like the same person. That's just asking for trouble. However, there might be some hope for us yet."

"Oh yeah?" Raoul questioned curious but cautious. "What's that?"

"What if he couldn't choose between the two of us?" Christine answered, looking up to meet Raoul's eyes.

"Wouldn't that only cause us to bond over broken hearts?" Raoul replied confused again.

Christine shook her head and began swinging their intertwined hands back and forth between them. "Not if we all are in the relationship."

She saw Raoul's eyebrows shoot up. "What? Like a threesome?"

Christine felt her cheeks warm up and she glared at Raoul. "Really? Why do you always have to use the sexual word all the time?"

"Am I wrong though?" Raoul probed waggling his eyebrows. "Didn't think you felt that way about me Christine, I'm touched."

"Yes, you're wrong!" Christine declared, giving him a slap on the shoulder. "I meant that the two of us could share him. Both be with him at the same time but not with each other."

"Ohhh." Raoul stated awkwardly. Christine watch him from the corner of her eye as he turned away from her, scratching his cheek with his finger.

Christine noticed that his ears were red, realization hit her.

"Wait!" She pulled them to a stop. Raoul didn't look at her, but she stared right at him. "Do you like me?"

Christine could now see Raoul's face so as his cheeks got redder and the color spread, her eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, dropping Raoul's hand to put both of hers to cover her mouth. "Since when?!"

"Ahh...since forever, I guess." Raoul admitted, still not looking at her.

"B-but you like Erik!" Christine reasoned.

He faced her then, expression exasperated. "Yes, and you know I'm bi. It's possible to like two people at the same time Christine. You're the one that just suggested Erik do it if he couldn't chose between us."

Christine bit her lip, feeling ashamed. "Sorry. I didn't know."

Raoul let out a tired sigh. "Yeah well, this wasn't exactly how I wanted you to find out either."

"I-I don't like you that way." Christine stated firmly. She saw the hurt in his eyes but ignored it to continue. "But, maybe…if this works and we're all together, I might someday…"

Raoul gained huge grin. He gave her a sweeping bow before straightening again. He held out his elbow for her to take to continue their walk.

"I have to charm both you and Erik? Not a problem! I do so love a challenge!"

Christine giggled as she took his arm.

"Antoinette, can I ask you a question? It's a little personal." Erik inquired, as they were about to finish their skype session.

It was the weekend of the end of spring break. Again, Antoinette had been unable to return home, but at least this time Erik was occupied with work with Mr. Khan and his lessons with Mr. Webber. However, he had not seen Antoinette in person since Christmas and it made him feel down. Though, he had to admit being with Raoul and Christine made him feel better.

He had noticed that Raoul had begun to be more flirtatious and considerate towards Christine over the past few months. Erik wondered if he was trying to win the girl's affection in more than a friend way. To be honest, he wouldn't be in least surprise if the two ended up together once they were slightly older. They have been best friends for years and while the same could be said about him and Antoinette, he could tell that the younger two saw their relationship differently. In addition, he would be happy for the two. The two appeared to be a good combination for the other.

Although he had to admit, if such a thing were to occur, where would that place Meg and him? Often times after friends become a couple, they leave their other friends behind. He wasn't really concern for himself since he had Antoinette, but Meg had been with the other two for almost as long as they were with each other. He has never had the experience of being a third wheel, but he was not about to let the girl he saw as his younger sister become one. As he observed more and more the times through the months of Raoul and Christine getting closer, the more he attempted at being with Meg to even it out.

What was strange though was that the times he did, Meg would always have such an amused look upon her face and Raoul and Christine would give him disgruntled stares.

But he digressed.

Right now, he was sitting at the public library. Sitting on the floor, against the wall and in between two rows of math books that apparently no one had any interest in because he was never disturbed or even hushed by another when he was talking to Antoinette in the section.

Antoinette was currently staring at him with a curious eyebrow raise.

"I guess." She answered to his question. "Though I have the right to deny you an answer if I want."

Erik nodded his agreement. She gave him the go ahead and he asked.

"How do you know that you're straight?"

Antoinette's eyes widened and her mouth fell open a little bit. After a few moments she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Why do you want to know?"

Erik scowled at her. "It's not polite to answer a question with a question."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I know that I'm straight because when I see a man of a certain type I think they're attractive. When I image myself in a relationship, it's always a man. Sure I find some women pretty but I have no interest in having sex with them. That answer your question?"

Erik felt his cheeks warm up and was grateful that his mask hid them from view. Though by the smirk on Antoinette's lips she probably knew that he was blushing.

"Now your turn." She squinted at him interested. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm not entirely sure that I'm straight myself." Erik confessed in a whisper.

"What!?" Antoinette exclaimed, causing Erik to cringe and glimpse down the row to see if anyone would show up.

A few minutes went by of no one appearing, he relaxed and glanced back at Antoinette on the screen.

"Okay, are you thinking you're gay? Bi?" Antoinette grilled, tone serious but lips containing a grin.

Erik sighed and knocked his head on the wall next to him. He let his head rest there as he answered her.

"None of those either."

He heard Antoinette let out a thoughtful hum.

"How about you tell me about it? Might be able to help with more info." She pushed.

"I guess the best way to describe it would be how one would think of puppies or kittens. I see someone, man or women and they look or act cute but only the way one would equal such thinking to a baby animal. And for those I find beautiful, I would think that the equivalent would be like a work of art. There is an appreciation of the features and characteristics but no desire. I have never felt what could be considered lust. Maybe I'm too young, but I doubt it."

Erik paused. Antoinette didn't say anything and he had to check the screen to make sure that they didn't lose the connection. He saw her waiting patiently for him to continue so he did.

"Yet I find myself sometimes thinking about relationships and myself in one. I see both men and women, doing romantic gestures but never anything, ah, of _that_ nature. Every time I have tried, I just…"

Erik broke off with a frown and squint of his eyes. Antoinette laughed on the screen.

"Erik, relax! Even with the mask on, I can tell that you look completely disgusted right now." She joked and Erik relaxed with a grin.

"So? What do you think?" he asked his longtime friend.

"Well, that sounds a lot like what one of my roommates is. I probably wouldn't have thought of it if I haven't met her. She says it's called asexuality. It's when you're not attracted to anything sexually." Antoinette answered.

Erik contemplated that.

"I'll have to do more research on my own, but it's a start. And it does seem like something that I might be given the definition itself." He told her, watching her nod in agreement.

"I'll ask her more about it, she could probably explain it better than I can." She paused, then got a big grin on her face that made Erik wary.

"How about you talk to her yourself."

Erik frowned. "You're going to give me her number?"

Antoinette shook her head. "No, I mean, come here and talk to her yourself."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Come visit me this summer!"

Erik felt his mouth drop open and shut it after a couple moments. "Again. And how am I supposed to do that?"

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "Dad's driving up here to visit. You can ride up with him and I'm sure dad would be willing come back up to get you when summers over. I'll talk to dad, I doubt it'll be a problem."

Erik felt a surge of excitement. He might get to see Antoinette in person again! Sure he wouldn't be able to work for Mr. Khan or take his lessons with Mr. Webber, but he was sure they wouldn't mind too much.

And mother? Well, he was pretty sure she wouldn't notice that he was gone anyway.

"I'll do it!" he raved, smiling largely.

Antoinette's face lite up and she clapped her hands once together. "Awesome! It'll be great having you here! I'll make sure that you'll have a great time! Promise!"

"It's a promise!"


	11. Discovering Yourself

Discovering Yourself

"You're leaving us!?" Raoul almost yelled, causing Erik to cringe inwards at the unexpected volume.

There was only one more week of school, then summer broke out. Everyone was gearing up for finals, so Erik, Christine, and Meg had gone to Raoul's house to study. When they had decided to take a break for lunch, they had gathered around Raoul's kitchen table and dug into their plates that was made for them by Raoul's older brother, Phillipe. As they ate, Christine had asked everyone what they were doing for the summer. Meg and Christine were going to summer school to get a heads start on their requirements while Raoul grumbled about how his parents were making him look for a job. Erik had gone last, and told them about going to spend the summer visiting Antoinette. And so here they were now.

"I'm only going to be gone for a couple months." Erik explained. "I'll be back about a week before school starts back up."

"But, that's not enough time to hang out!" Raoul protested, biting into his sandwich aggressively.

Christine threw a baby carrot at him. "Come on. It won't be that bad. Erik doesn't get to see Antoinette very often, so we shouldn't complain. Besides after he comes back, we'll be able to be together during school now."

Raoul continued to grumble for a while more but remained silent overall.

Erik felt the need to change the topic.

"Yes, you're all going to freshmen next year. Excited?"

Meg nodded enthusiastically since she was still chewing a bite from her own sandwich. After she swallowed she continued.

"Finally going to high school! Sure, we'll be at the bottom of the food chain but I'm excited about all the electives we get to choose from!"

"Oh? What did you sign up for this year?" Erik probed as he took a sip of his drink.

"Dance and theatre! Did you know that you have a ballet dance option?!" Meg responded with an excited smile.

"Hasn't it been a few years since you took lessons?" Raoul asked, joining the conversation again.

Meg deflated a little. "Officially yes, but I've practice a little throughout. I'm definitely not as good as I would be if I never stopped going, but the description said that they'll take people who hadn't been practicing."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Erik reassured. "And theatre?"

Meg perked back up. "Yes! You talking about Mr. Khan has made me curious. I want to meet the guy who's been letting you do what you want in the auditorium, because there has to be something up with him."

Erik placed his hand on his chest in an offended gesture. "I'll have you know that he sees and appreciates my genius. Unlike some!"

At the last part, he pokes Meg's side and she giggles. He then turned towards Raoul and Christine and motioned for them to speak.

"I'm taking theatre like Meg and music." Christine answered, popping a baby carrot in her mouth. "I'm hoping to get my acting and singing as prepared as possible for the time I have to do auditions comes towards applying for college."

"I doubt you'll have much problem getting into a school, even now. You're very talented already, I'm sure Mr. Webber and Mr. Khan will love to have you." Erik declared.

Christine's cheeks turned a shade of pink and glanced off to the side, so he added. "Mr. Khan, will probably hope to see you as a way to get me to do stuff. I don't always listen to him after all."

That gained Erik a giggle from her so he faced Raoul. "You?"

Raoul shrugged, picking at the left over crumbs on his plate. "P.E. and theatre. I'm no dancer like Meg or singer like Christine, so I actually have to do my P.E. requirement the hard way. I think I'll fit in theatre, though to be honest, I'm only doing it because of the chance to have to same class as Meg and Christine. When I'm a junior, I'll probably switch to their business program."

Erik nodded, then cocked his head to the side as he considered the younger. "Do not let Mr. Khan find out your motive. All teachers have a certain amount of power to have students in particular classes. He'll purposely keep you separate just for fun. He has a dark humor that way."

"Has it happened before?" Christine asked, brows furrowed down.

"Yep. This past fall there was a couple who told him that they had wanted one class specifically because it help them concentrate. Mr. Khan allowed it, but soon found out that the only reason they asked was so that they could have class together. He went to the office that made up the class schedules. Not only did he separate them in his class, but was able to get them separated in all the other classes they shared. Mr. Khan, doesn't like to be lied to." Erik enlightened, taking in the other threes widen eyes once he was finished with amusement.

"I'll say." Raoul breathed out. "Yeah, okay. I'll make sure to never mention anything that'll make him even suspect it."

"But he has a soft spot for you doesn't he?" Meg poked with a smile and playfully elbowed him in his side.

Erik hummed. "I suppose, though I wish he would stop trying to get me to audition for whatever play chosen for the semester."

The other three laughed, and Erik felt his own lips curl upwards in a smile.

Erik saw the following summer as the best one he's had yet. Erik had left with Mr. Giry a week into the break, driving up to New York to the apartment Antoinette lived in with two other roommates. He had left a note for mother the day he left, letting her know where he was going and for how long. He had tried to bring up the subject beforehand but, she was either at work during his time at home or not in the mood to have a talk with him. So he left the note and hoped that this one was one that she actually read, because unlike his other notes, this one told her that he'll be gone for almost the whole summer.

He was super excited the day Mr. Giry picked him up and they made the drive. Mr. Giry was even kind enough to let him take the wheel for a stretch. Erik didn't have a lot of practice with driving. Sure he had his license, the parent Giry's offering to teach him how to drive and took him to the DMV to get the written and driving test done a little after his sixteenth birthday. However, without a vehicle of his own, he never used his license very much afterwards. So driving down the highway was exciting.

Once they got there, Mr. Giry only stayed a couple days until he had to head back home. Erik was introduced to Antoinette's two roommates Liz and Toni and settled into the apartment quickly.

Antoinette took him to see many sights and places that were treasured by locals but not known to the common tourist, much to Erik's delight. Though, he had to admit to not understanding that New York had the best pizza, because he wasn't all that impressed. Antoinette had agreed with him, but warned him not to say that in front of Liz, who was born and raised there.

While he wasn't with Antoinette, Erik spent time with her roommate Toni. She was a spunky girl that was going to college to get her degree in medicine, she was going to start her fourth year for her Bachelors after summer and was looking at medical schools already.

She was also the roommate that Antoinette had told him about. The one who was asexual.

Erik had been nervous to bring the subject up to her, seeing it as immensely impolite since they were not close or even knew each other very well. Luckily, she was the one who had brought up the subject first. Apparently, Antoinette had already told her about him.

"So you think you might be asexual?" she had asked him randomly at one point when it had only been the two of them in the apartment.

"Ah," Caught off guard, Erik answered with a simple, "Yes."

She hummed and took a sip of her coffee, not facing him. "Tell me about it?"

He had told her what he had told Antoinette. She had listened, without interrupting and as soon as he finished she nodded.

"Well, it sure sounds like you one of us." She squinted her eyes at the wall thoughtfully. "Though I think, you would be considered what we call a bi-romantic asexual. Plus, I think you also a sex-repulsed one as well."

Erik had cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What are those? Is it bad?"

Toni laughed, almost spilling her coffee. "Honey, there isn't anything bad or wrong about any of us. No matter what anyone says or thinks, we are just as real as any other sexual orientation out there. Don't let anyone tell you anything different."

Erik frowned. "Has anyone told you something like that?"

"Oh yeah, many times." Toni snorted. "'Oh, you just haven't met the right person.' 'Wow, so you don't have to deal with relationship drama? Lucky you!' 'Don't you mean celibate?' 'Challenge accepted!'"

"That's…" Erik started, having grown more and more annoyed with what Toni was saying, but grew a little horrified at the last one. "That's terrible."

Toni shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, it's a problem, but we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

She patted the chair next to hers and Erik went and sat done.

"Now." Toni began. "You said how you can imagine yourself with a man or a woman together. That's why I said you might be bi-romantic. It basically means that you're willing to be with male or female only without the sex. Which brings mean to the other one. Sex-repulsed is even simpler. You have no desire what so ever to be with someone in that way, in any form. Who knows, maybe if you do get with someone, you might be open to being with them once your relationship hits a certain point. It's not like we all die virgins. But the face you're giving me now tells me that's not very likely to happen."

She finished with a laugh and Erik relaxed his face.

"Sorry." He had apologized sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it!" Toni replied with such a large smile that Erik found himself smiling back.

After that, the two had become closer, by the end of the summer once Erik was getting ready to leave, she had provided him her number and made him promise that he'll keep in touch.

"It's nice having someone around who understands." She had told him, holding out a piece of paper with her number.

Agreeing with her completely, he took the paper and made sure to add the number into his phone the first chance he had gotten.

When the time had come for Erik to leave, Antoinette pulled him aside.

"Do me a favor, will you?" she asked with a serious tone.

"What is it?" he responded.

Suddenly she was smirking at him.

"I want you to tell me in extreme detail about when you tell Raoul and Christine that you're asexual."

"What? Why would I tell them that? They don't need to know." Erik questioned bewildered.

Antoinette shook her head quickly. "Oh no, they definitely need to know this! And after they do, I need to know their reactions. Okay?"

"Okay…" Erik agreed reluctantly. "But I don't understand why they need to know—"

"Hush!" Antoinette whispered dramatically, pressing a finger to his lips. "Trust me on this."

Erik still didn't understand, even as Mr. Giry drove him away from the apartment to head back, but to him the favor seemed simple enough so he was willing to do it. Yet, he hoped that the two didn't react in any of the negative ways that Toni had talked to him about.


	12. Cute Turned Hot, But Unavailable?

Cute Turned to Hot, But Unavailable?

Erik was a little letdown when he couldn't see Christine, Raoul, or Meg once he had come back. For one, after he had been dropped off by Mr. Giry and entered the apartment, he found it a complete mess. Apparently, without having him to clean it up, Mother allowed for the place to turn into a clutter of, well, everything.

He had reached his third day of cleaning by the time he saw mother for the first time since he's been back. She had walked in the apartment, wearing her uniform from the call center she currently worked in, and turned from side to side. She stood at the entrance, taking in the lot cleaner living room and kitchen then caught sight of him in the bathroom, cleaning the mirror. Their eyes had met for a moment, before she turned away and closed the door behind her.

"I had thought this place was becoming a mess. I thought you've finally fallen into a little teenage rebellion." She stated as she walked into the kitchen.

Erik placed the spray bottle and paper towels down, and followed her.

"I had left you a note, explaining where I was." he told her, watching as she opened the freshly stalked fridge and took out a pudding cup.

"Did you really?" she questioned lazily as she opened the cup and got a spoon out from one of the draws. "It must have been somewhere I couldn't have seen, because I never saw one."

Erik's jaw clenched and he had to breathe in deeply and let it out slowly a couple times until he could reply. "I placed it right on the refrigerator. I was at—"

But his mother raised her hand to stop him, like she often did. "Yeah, I don't care. Next time you go shopping, make sure you get the chocolate pudding, huh?"

She walked out of the kitchen and brushed pass him to enter her room.

Erik stood there for a few moments in silence but then felt pain from his hands and looked down to realize that he had clenched his fists so tightly that his nails left concerning deep markings in his palms. He loosened his hands and noted that the marking made by his left middle finger had broken skin and was red from blood pooling into the wound. He let out a tired sigh, then proceeded to go to the bathroom to clean up his hand. Once a ban aid was firmly in place, he went back to his cleaning.

The following days before school, Erik used to prepare for it. He stocked on supplies he needed, and went and got some new, well new to him, clothes. His old ones weren't fitting him anymore.

On the first day back, Erik got dressed and went to school. Through the day, he noticed that he was getting stared at. It confused him, because while he was use to the incoming freshmen giving him looks because of his mask, the rest of the years were used to him and his mask. Yet, he saw people sneaking looks at him from all the years, heck, even a couple of the teachers had done a double take upon spotting him. He tried brushing it off and continue with his day, but it was making him very self-conscious.

Erik had yet to see any of his younger friends by the time he went to Mr. Webber, so thought maybe the instructor could tell him. After he had told said teacher about what was going on, the instructor had laughed.

"I think I can tell you what everyone is staring at!" he answered, reaching up to place his hand on Erik's shoulder.

"What?" Erik asked, relieved that he might get his answer.

"Boy, you've grown! Plus you look like you've been hitting the gym!" Mr. Webber explained with a smile.

Erik frowned. "I'm…getting stared at because I got taller and look fit? How does that make since?"

Mr. Webber stared at him for a few moments in disbelief, which confused Erik more, but then shook his head. He patted Erik's shoulder a couple times, before making a shooing motion.

"Go eat lunch now. You can go check to see if any of those friends of yours have the same lunch as you."

"Have you met Christine yet?" Erik asked as he gathered his stuff.

Mr. Webber nodded with a pleased smile. "She has great talent. Not as much as you do, but her dedication will take her far. I'm sure of it."

Erik felt a weight lift off his shoulder at the instructor's response. He hadn't realized until now, how much he had wanted Christine and Mr. Webber to get along.

He said his goodbyes to Mr. Webber and went to the cafeteria to see if any of his younger friends were present. He had sent them all a text the previous night that if they shared a lunch to meet at the table that he often occupied when Mr. Webber sent off to eat.

Erik entered the cafeteria, and was pleasantly surprised to see Christine, Raoul and Meg already sitting at the table he told them to go to. He made his way to them and as he got closer, Meg was the first one to look up.

Upon seeing him, her eyes widened. Yet, as she quickly elbowed Christine, who was sitting next to her, she wore a smirk. Christine looked at her for a moment before glancing up. By then Erik was a few feet from the table and he grabbed the back of the chair next to Raoul.

Christine was gawking at him as he sat down and Raoul turned to him. He jumped back upon seeing him.

"The heck?!" Raoul exclaimed at him with his mouth staying slightly open. "Who are you and what have you done with our short and skinny Erik?"

Erik rolled his eyes and snatched the bread off of Raoul's tray. As he tore off a piece, he answered. "Right in front of you. It's been a long summer."

"I'll say!" Meg agreed with smile. She lifted her own arms and began to flex them. "Someone's been working out!"

"And growing." Christine added, her cheeks turning strangely pink. "You look like you gained a foot in height!"

Erik shrugged, chewing on the bread. He swallowed.

"One of Antoinette's roommates like going to the gym in the mornings. Since Antoinette never gets up any time before 9am unless she has too, I had open mornings until Toni began taking me with her. And as for the height, I can tell you that wasn't exactly fun and painless."

"Whoa!" Raoul extolled breathlessly. "You're like post-serum Steve now!"

"What?"

Raoul nodded quickly. "Yep! Until now, you were short and skinny like Steve Rogers before he got the serum. Cute, but small. But now! You're full blown Captain America post-serum, and all the hotness that comes with it!"

Erik felt heat rush to his cheeks, happy that the mask was there to cover it.

"O-oh." He stuttered. Never having gotten such a compliment, he didn't really know what to say to that. Especially since it came from Raoul. "Thank you?"

Raoul must have taken noticed that Erik was uncomfortable because he laughed nervously and his cheeks turned red.

"You're welcome. Ah, how about you tell us more about what you did over the summer?" he offered, no longer looking Erik in the eye.

Erik was more than happy to continue with the topic change.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you all." Erik announced as he sat on top of one of the light beams. One of the lightbulbs had gone out, so he was up there changing it, while Meg, Christine and Raoul waited for him on the stage below.

A couple months have passed since school had started. All of them were in a comfortable routine now with everyone knowing each other's schedule. Often times, the younger three would come to the auditorium when school ended to meet up with Erik so that they could all walk home together. Mr. Khan had been puzzled the first time it had occurred but that soon disappeared because they had explained that they were there for Erik. Now he just waves at them when they say their hellos as they headed inside the theatre.

Erik had avoided telling Raoul and Christine about him being asexual. He was still confused as to why it mattered in the first place but earlier in the week Antoinette had found out that he haven't told them yet, she scolded him. Now here he was, on a light beam about to tell them so that he didn't get chewed out again.

"What is it?" Christine called up at him. The younger three watching as he worked, sitting in a circle on the stage.

"I don't know why, but Antoinette feels the need to have me tell you this, but I'm asexual." He revealed as he pulled out the bad lightbulb.

"What's that?" Raoul asked as Erik brought out the replacement lightbulb.

"Basically? It means that I'm not attracted to anything sexually." He clarified, as he began putting the new lightbulb in. "Again, I don't know why Antoinette wanted me to tell you that."

He was startled, almost losing his grip on the lightbulb when he heard Meg's loud laughter. Erik glanced down and saw Meg laughing but now laying down on the stage clutching her stomach.

"I-I know why she wanted you to tell us! Or should I say, tell Christine and Raoul!" she gasped in between laughing with her hand raised as if she was waiting to be called on in a class.

"You do?" Erik questioned, momentarily forgetting about the lightbulb that needed to be replaced. "Tell me."

Erik was astonished to watch Raoul suddenly lunged at Meg and cover her mouth with both his hands.

"Raoul!" Christine exclaimed just as startled, though Erik thought that she sounded a little pleased as well.

"She doesn't know!" Raoul declared firmly, practically on top on Meg. He then glanced up at where Erik was sitting. "She's joking. She doesn't know a thing."

Erik stared at them in disbelief. If she really didn't know, why'd you react that way? Erik thought. But, he decided to let it go this time, and on the outside he shook his head.

"Whatever. I've told you, so now Antoinette can't scold me again." He stated and went back to the light. He screwed the bulb in quickly and climbed down the ladder.

Mr. Khan still wouldn't let him work on the upper levels without it.

"I do have one question though." Christine commented as Erik placed his feet back down on the stage. "Does this mean that you never want to be with someone? Ever?"

Given the reactions Toni has told him about when she had revealed to people she was asexual, Christine's question didn't seem bad.

"I wouldn't say that." Erik began, gesturing for Raoul to get off of Meg. Once he did, Erik helped Meg stand up and they made their way out. "I wouldn't mind being with someone. Male or female. But I don't like the idea of ever being with them _that_ way. Toni, Antoinette's roommate, is also asexual and has helped me understand a lot about it."

As he talked, Meg was beside him and Raoul and Christine were behind. A few moments after he finished, Erik was unexpectedly grabbed from both sides. Raoul was on his left and Christine on his right, both had one arm wrapped around him and had twin grins.

"That's fine! Normal is boring anyway!" Raoul stated cheerfully.

"Yeah, we love you just the way you are!" Christine continued with the same tone.

Erik saw Meg a few feet away, spotted her soft grin and instantly felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Who would have thought Erik was so nervous to have to wait for their reactions.

He placed his arms around Raoul and Christine, and smiled in relief.

"Thank you."


	13. The Last Production

The Last Production

"Erik, stay a little. I want to talk to you." Mr. Khan stated as Erik began to climb down the ladder a few minutes after the last bell of the school day rang.

Erik gave a side glance to the instructor as he came down then shrugged. "My friends will be waiting outside."

"Don't worry about them. I already told that I needed to talk to you. It's important." Mr. Khan replied easily.

By now, Erik was off the ladder so he faced him. "What is it?"

"I want to know what your plans were once you graduated." Mr. Khan inquired, gesturing for Erik to follow him, which he did. They went into his office that was cluttered with books on acting, and all sorts of plays and musical scripts.

Hearing what the instructor wanted, Erik mentally paused. Yes, graduation was coming up pretty soon. It was only February, but it goes by fast. His days consisted of his focus on the musical he was creating, while also helping Mr. Khan, and taking his lessons with Mr. Webber, plus all the time he spent with the others that he hadn't been paying attention to the calendar. With all that taking up his time, he never really thought about what he would do once he graduated.

"I…don't know." Erik answered slowly. "I suppose, work on my musical. I won't be going to college, since I don't think they'll have anything that they could teach me that I don't already know or can't learn on my own."

Mr. Khan nodded like that was the answer he was expecting and motion for Erik to sit down on the chair that was across from his. Once he did, the instructor observed Erik in silence for a few moments, long enough that Erik began to feel the urge to shift but forced himself to remain still.

"I'm asking because I think I have found a good opportunity for you." Mr. Khan finally spoke.

"Oh?" Erik's eyebrow rose. He knew that Mr. Khan couldn't see it from underneath his mask but Erik felt that the instructor could tell.

Mr. Khan nodded firmly, eyes serious but there was also a hint of…caution?

"I have a friend who works as the artistic director for a theatre company in New York. He has been complaining to me for quite some time about not being able to find an assistant who can do the many different types of tasks that he asks to be done."

"And you told him about me?" Erik asked, though it wasn't truly a question.

"Yes. I've told him about all the things you have done for me for almost four years and he became keen on meeting you. He is specifically excited about what I have told him about your set designs and your musical." Mr. Khan explained.

"But it's not finished yet!" Erik protested, referring to his musical. "And probably won't be for another few years at least!"

"And I told him that." Mr. Khan reassured him. "However, he doesn't care. He's fine with hearing about what you have already done."

Erik sighed with a shake of his head. "I don't think I'm ready to do such a thing yet."

"Hmm…" Mr. Khan frowned but soon shrugged. "I'm sure I can persuade him out of it. He'll probably still ask but you won't have to go into any details or say anything if you don't want to. I'll make sure he respects your wishes."

"You're not making him sound like someone who'll make a good boss right now." Erik stated, the corner of his mouth twitching.

The instructor rolled his eyes. "He is a great man and good boss, but he can be a stubborn man. Sometimes that is a good trait, other times it's not."

Erik nodded in understanding. "How am I supposed to meet this man if I accept a meeting?"

"Ah, yes." Mr. Khan's eyes brightened and his lips gained a grin. "You know that this semester's play is going to start soon."

He had drifted off expectantly, and Erik added the required "yes" for him to continue. Mr. Khan had his hand clasped together and used both index fingers to point at him.

"That's how you'll meet. The production of the play will be your application we'll say." Mr. Khan stated, his grin turning into a smile as Erik perked up in the seat.

"Does this mean…" Erik tried to ask but couldn't get the words out because of the building excitement growing within him.

"I'm letting you have free reign." Mr. Khan confirmed, chuckling as Erik jumped out of his seat and almost knocked the chair to the floor in the process. "You won't be in charge of everything, but you'll definitely have a say. What I will leave up to you is the set design and the mechanics. That is what my friend is looking forward to the most and I know that whatever you come up with will be spectacular."

"Th-this is—" Erik couldn't get any more words out again. Never has he felt so excited. He would get started right away! He will make sure it's his best work from all the previous ones. He'll—

"There is one catch though." Mr. Khan added, causing Erik's world to freeze.

He knew that it was too good to be true. However, when he turned to give Mr. Khan his attention something must have shown because the instructor raised his hands as if to placate him.

"It's not anything bad." Mr. Khan tried to soothe but that only made Erik more suspicious. Erik sent him a scowl in reply, Mr. Khan sighed and brought his hands down. "He wants you to be in the musical as well."

"Isn't that asking for a lot?" Erik tested, feeling unsure and holding himself motionless so that he wouldn't fidget. "Being basically in charge of the production _and_ being a character as well?"

"It's something that he has been known to asked for out of his employees." Mr. Khan clarified. "For you, yes, it'll be quite the challenge since you are going to be involved in a lot of other portions but you'll have plenty of help. This I'll make sure of."

"But, I don't act and sing." Erik tried to play down. He definitely didn't want to be an actual actor in the musical.

"Erik, you can't think I'll believe that." Mr. Khan reasoned firmly causing Erik to scowl at him again.

"And why not?" he argued.

Mr. Khan shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest. "Because I've heard you sing. Sometimes you do it as you work and then there are the parts where you act out a random scene from a play. Usually it's the one that we're doing at the time, but I've seen you do others. You're very good in both aspects and nothing you try to say now will dispel what I have already seen with my own eyes."

Erik continue to scowl at him while inwardly cursing himself for never realizing that Mr. Khan had watched him the times he did such things.

"Just audition, like everyone else." Mr. Khan added. "Sure, I believe you would be great for the star role, but if I find someone better, the part will be given to them. You know that I'm fair in my auditions Erik."

Erik couldn't argue with that. He's sat with the man for seven auditions and he has never played favorites during the casting. Still, the fact that Mr. Khan has failed to mention what the musical was at any point has made Erik wary.

"What's the musical?" he asked, though he had a feeling he didn't want to know. Mr. Khan's response didn't help that.

"Ah well, Erik. Let me start by saying that I didn't chose it. It was what was voted for, as you well know—" Mr. Khan began awkwardly.

"What's the musical?!" Erik demanded, now glaring at Mr. Khan.

The instructor wasn't looking at him now, it was as if he couldn't, and after clearing his throat Mr. Khan told him softly and tensely.

" _WHAT_?!"

"Stop laughing!" Erik growled as he watched Antoinette laugh. Though it wasn't really laugher, it was full blown evil cackling that came directly from the belly.

It has been about a week since Mr. Khan had told him about the musical. After the instructor had told him which musical it was, Erik had basically stormed out of the office and classroom, banging the door as he went. Christine, Meg, and Raoul had all been outside as he came fuming out and asked him what was wrong. He ignored them as they walked until they stopped asking. Once they had reached his stop, he apologized for his behavior but went inside without telling them what had happened.

Now it was Saturday, and he was skyping with Antoinette on his phone at his usual hide away spot in the public library and he had just told her what had happened.

"B-but." Antoinette stuttered as she tried to regain her breath through laughs. "Hunchback of Norte Dame!"

"Yes. It's hilarious!" Erik grumbled, losing his energy and slumping against the wall.

"Sorry, sorry." Antoinette giggled, though her face did show that she felt a little guilty at laughing so Erik accepted it. "What do the others think about it?"

Erik sighed in defeat. "They all think it's a wonderful idea. They all also decided to audition as well. Christine wants to try her luck at getting Esmeralda, Meg prefers something that would be chorus and Raoul doesn't care at all."

"See? They think you'll do a great job" Antoinette stated.

"Maybe. But I can't exactly do a musical with my mask on, can I? Stands out too much." Erik mumbled, his head now resting on top of his bent knee.

"Well if you get Quasimodo, no one would have to waste time on getting you in makeup." Antoinette declared cheerfully and snickered again when he sent her a death glare.

"Thanks!" Erik stated with his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Your welcome!" she sang in reply. Then her expression turned serious and as she spoke so was her voice. "All things aside. This is actually a great opportunity for you."

Erik grumbled some more. "I know. I wish I didn't have to do the part where I'm a character. We both know that Mr. Khan is going to have me as Quasimodo, since I'm the best."

Antoinette snorted. "Cocky, aren't we?"

"It's not cocky if it's fact." Erik countered and he watched her roll her eyes.

"Fine. You're the best so you're going to be Quasimodo. But look at it this way. No one in the audience is ever going to know that it's your real face up there. Everyone is going to think that its makeup."

"And when they find out its not?" Erik questioned, biting his lip as he rested against the wall.

"I don't see how or why they would find out." Antoinette challenged with a squint of her eyes. "And if they somehow do, who cares? They're nobody and don't matter. You'll be about to graduate so even if they do anything, it won't be long. You'll be too busy leaving them all in the dust because you'll have a job working with a prestigious theatre company."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Erik approved, feeling lightened by Antoinette's words. Then he frowned. "Though I'm worried about where I would live if I were to suddenly move to New York. Housing isn't cheap and I doubt I could get a single apartment rapidly after making a request."

"That's where I come in!" Antoinette announced chirpily. "Liz is moving out in a few months and Toni and I have been looking for a new roommate. The minute I told Toni about how you might be needing a place over here soon, she agreed. Sure we don't know yet if you'll get the job, but come on, this is _you_ we're talking about so you'll definitely be with us."

Erik stared at his friend in wonder. He couldn't speak, for he didn't know how long, out of amazement of the woman on the screen in front of him.

"You would do that for me?" Erik eventually asked, in disbelief.

"Sure! You're my friend Erik, why would you think anything different." Antoinette stated firmly. "Of course, you will have to pay your part of the rent and utilities."

At that, Erik let out a chuckle.

"Dear Antoinette, you are, like always, a marvel."

She winked at him. "And don't you forget it!"


	14. Producing, Set & Tech, Rehersal

Producing! Set and Tech! Rehearsal!

Erik got the role of Quasimodo. He wasn't at all surprised, nonetheless he did send a glare Mr. Khan's way the time he saw him afterwards that he had the role. The instructor had grinned at him sheepishly but then shrugged like he had nothing to do with the casting.

Though Erik was pleased with the rest of the casting. Christine had gotten the part of Esmeralda, like she had wanted and Meg was Laverne, the female gargoyle who supported Quasimodo. Meg had been a little surprised that she wasn't only part of the chorus, but she was pleased. Raoul though, his was amusing.

"I'm Phoebus!" Raoul exclaimed in disbelief as soon as he had saw his name on the cast list. "But, I don't sing!"

"And Phoebus doesn't sing in this." Erik reassured the younger, patting his shoulder. "This production is going to be based on the movie rather than other productions so that it'll be more appropriate for the times we do it in front of the elementary schools."

"We do this in front of kids?!" Raoul stared at him with wide eyes and Erik had to hold back a chuckled, however he couldn't do the same for his smile.

"Do worry. Mr. Khan knows what he's doing. He wouldn't have placed you in the role unless he thought you could do it. He placed you as Phoebus, so he thinks you'll be the best Phoebus." Erik comforted.

He was startled when Raoul had grabbed his hand from his shoulder and began playing with his fingers. Goosebumps rose on Erik's arms as Raoul stroked his hand from his wrist to his fingertips.

"And you'll be an awesome Quasimodo." Raoul almost whispered, not meeting Erik's eyes but instead gazing down at Erik's tramped hand in both of his. "I know that, this isn't what you want but I think it'll be all the more better because you're in it."

Erik cocked his head to the side as he observed Raoul.

As of late, both Raoul and Christine have been more…physical with Erik. He hadn't noticed at first, maybe because the gestures seemed harmless enough because they were ones that the two had always done with him. However, such touches no longer seem to be quite as innocent as previously. For one, they lingered longer. For another, there are added characteristics. In some cases that would be acceptable but in others, not so much. For example, he was used to Christine placing her head on his shoulder as they sat together or Raoul pressing right against him while they are lying together with the others. But then Christine started wrapping her arms around one of his and holding it to her side and Raoul seem to have randomly decided to occasionally grab one of Erik's hands to either hold it or do something like what he was doing now.

Erik didn't particularly hate or mind the gestures, but he had yet to come up with a reason for the change.

He has spoken to Antoinette about it but she wasn't very helpful. The smirk on her lips made Erik believe that she knew what was going on but refused to tell him. He also got that impression from Meg as well. Despite the fact that he never brought up the topic with her, she was always smirking knowingly when he caught her watching what new display of affection Raoul or Christine would do to Erik. Knowing Meg, he knew that she would play off not knowing anything just like her sister.

"Yes well," Erik started, lifting his hand out of Raoul's grip and ignoring the pout that he received. "At least I have almost complete control over everything else that goes on for this production."

And Mr. Khan had kept his word on that. From the moment of Mr. Khan had told him which musical, Erik drew designs for the set and tried to think out how everything would work with what the school had, which wasn't much. Sure he had been angry towards the acting part, but he didn't let that interfere with the rest of the tasks he was given.

By the time the cast list was out, Erik had a rough draft of what was to be done. Mr. Khan had looked it over and made a few small changes that he explained to Erik that they couldn't do, but for the most part kept everything the same.

He started his work, Mr. Khan having students, who didn't make it into the play, to help build the set. Erik tried to do as much as possible in anticipation of rehearsal starting and he got a lot done. Once rehearsal did start, he wasn't quite satisfied with what he had gotten done. Mostly it was because he kept changing things. He knew that was a flaw, but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't like a normal show where they had already had a lot of older sets to choose from. Again, Erik knew that it was partly his fault, but he wanted everything to be spectacular because it was technically his application to work for Mr. Khan's friend, which means not using old and worn props and sets, unless they fit the appearance exact.

Rehearsals began and Erik suddenly had to add acting to his to-do list.

It wasn't too bad. He was the main character but was not in every scene. During periods he was not on stage to do a scene he was working on a project with the other students who were charged as backstage hands. It was also easy for him to remember the lines, so unlike some of the other actors, his scenes were pretty quick.

He loved working with Meg as she played Laverne and could see why Mr. Khan had chosen her for the part. She played the older gargoyle, with such grumpy charm and wisdom that it has led to multiple pauses of the scene because the other students would break character to laugh.

Raoul, though he was at first unsure about being Phoebus, grew to enjoy the part and learned to play it with the charisma and honor needed for the character. Erik was always amused by the scenes he shared with the other because their characters were rivals and didn't like each other until the end. His particular favorite is when he gets to chase Raoul off stage to make him leave 'Notre Dame'.

Christine was, to Erik's lack of surprise, amazing as Esmeralda. Erik thought she performed the role remarkably from the time rehearsal commenced. His favorite scene is the one she's in 'Notre Dame' and sings her song, "God Help the Outcasts." He's in the scene as well, watching her from above and doesn't have to act out his admiration of her while she sings because he means it sincerely.

That was the other thing…his mask. Mr. Khan allowed him to wear it at the beginning of rehearsals, but as it got closer and closer to opening night, he began to suggest practicing without it.

"I don't want the first time everyone sees you to be on opening night." Mr. Khan had told him after Erik rejected him taking off his mask.

"Why?" Erik had scowled. "Think everyone would be too traumatized to perform after looking upon my face, knowing that there is no makeup?"

"It's more for _you_ to get use to you being without your mask." Mr. Khan replied easily, not backing down. "There will be a lot of eyes on you on opening night and I don't want you to freak out, knowing that they are seeing you without your mask."

"I'll be fine!" Erik hissed.

"Maybe," the instructor nodded calmly. "But, if you do it for rehearsal, you can get used to it and it'll be a lot easier."

Mr. Khan had walked away with that and Erik couldn't help but take his words to heart. He knew that Meg and Mr. Khan had seen his face and accepted it, but the others? He was also worried about Christine and Raoul. Despite the fact they had been friends for years, he has never shown them his face. It would hurt, if they suddenly rejected him because of it. Of course, he knew that they would see him eventually, Quasimodo was disfigured and he would not be wearing any makeup. No matter what, they would see him on opening night.

Maybe Mr. Khan was right. Maybe he should give the others time to get use to his face…

It took him another week after the discussion with Mr. Khan until he showed up on stage for one of his scenes without his mask. By then, they were all performing in their costumes, so Erik was wearing his, the simple attire of an oversize green shirt, brown pants, and a tied on sack underneath his shirt that was used as the hump on his back. He had walked on and it became silent, so still and quiet that Erik almost raced off the stage to put his mask back on.

Okay, he'll admit that Mr. Khan was right about showing them before opening night.

Thankfully, Meg was the one to break the silence. She walked up to him, in character, and squinted up at him then said a line from the scene they were to do. Still feeling nervous about the silence but not knowing what else to do, he let Quasimodo's character become him and replied back. Going through the motions, he noticed the students who played Victor and Hugo, Firman and Andre—juniors who loved being partner characters with each other, came to him and dramatically spoke their lines as well. Laverne smacked the back of Hugo's head and the other students, who were not in the scene laughed.

Erik felt a huge wave of relief, and the rehearsal moved on.

As the rehearsal was coming to a close, they were on the scene with him and Christine in 'Notre Dame' after Esmeralda claimed sanctuary. Erik was nervous for Christine's reaction to his face, but she gave no indication that he was anything different than the previous times as they went. Once he had helped her "escape" and she had given him the necklace with the city's map, he was startled when she leaned in and kissed the top of his cheek, which she had never done before, and the mask normally covered it. As she leaned back, Erik noticed that she was smiling gently, and he knew that she didn't care about how his face looked.

His chest filled with warmth, and he was barely able to say the rest of his lines to her in character. In the next part where Erik had to chase Raoul as Phoebus off the stage, there was a moment as Erik was holding Raoul up by his shirt, Raoul broke character for the slightest second. He sent him a wink and quick grin then went into character. They finished for the day with him singing "Heaven's Light," and he allowed the grin he had held back since Christine had kiss him to come forward.

His friends accepted him. And the others don't seem to be traumatized from seeing his face.

It was a good day.


	15. Opening Night

Opening Night

Rehearsal and set up came and went by a lot faster than Erik thought it would. Before he knew it, it was the beginning of May and they had their first show on Friday. The schedule went that they performed two Friday evening shows two weeks in a row, and performed six shows during the two weeks after the first show during school for the elementary schools that took a field trip to see them.

Tickets were selling for the Friday shows in a couple previous weeks and the Wednesday of the week the first show was to perform, were sold out for both.

Raoul had a mini breakdown that week and it took Erik, Christine, Meg and even Mr. Khan to calm him down. Piangi, a senior like Erik who played Frollo, caused everyone stress as he began coughing during his song, "Hellfire," on the last day previous to their first show. The coughing fit had caused his girlfriend, Carlotta, also a senior, to fuss over him a good ten minutes until she was forced off stage so that they could continue. As she stormed off, Erik saw that she sent a glare towards Christine. He knew that she was jealous that she didn't get the part of Esmeralda, but well, it couldn't have been help. She wasn't good, fact was fact.

Friday came and soon all of them were back stage that evening getting ready for their first show. Erik didn't have a complicated costume, once he was done, he helped the stage hands get everything set up backstage so that they would be ready for their cues. Erik had to admit that he was nervous about the show. Mr. Khan had told him that his friend would be in the audience for this show and Erik had felt the pressure become real.

This was his time to shine.

This was his time.

 _His_ time.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't have done everything on his own, but the ideas had come from him and he was ready to broadcast them for everyone to see.

Letting go of the rope he had adjusted, he nodded to the others and headed back.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Khan was saying his greeting to the audience and he walked off. The curtains opened and the music began.

Indeed, Erik was grateful for Mr. Webber agreeing to have his advance class act as the orchestra for the musical.

It was finally his turn to go on stage, he saw Raoul and Christine both give him double thumbs up. Taking a breath and letting it out, he went on.

His favorite part was his own song, "Out There." Piangi used the trap door to exit the stage, like he was going down a staircase from high above, and Erik began to sing. Forcing himself to sound hoarse, he slowly changed it so that by the time he was at the title, his voice was normal, but his character transformed. As he sung, he moved around the stage enthusiastically, at one point climbing the side of the set that was made specifically for him to climb.

Erik could feel the energy of the crowd, giving him more power in his step and voice. By the end of it he felt exhilarated and the feeling lasted the entire show.

The show was a success! No major mess-ups happened and the crowd was on its feet as the curtained reopened for the cast could all take a bow. First were the chorus members, who came out in pairs of two and three. Then the supporting cast such as Clopin and the gargoyles, Meg doing a little curtsy and added a kiss blown at the audience. Then Raoul came out, before Christine. Piangi was next and then it was Erik's turn.

The crowd hit its highest cheer as he came out, and he felt ecstatic, taking in their applause like a sponge. He bowed at the stages edge, then he took a step back to catch Christine's and Piangi's hands. Together, the cast stepped forward as one, raising their hands to take a bow as one. He let the others go, Erik lowered his hand toward the orchestra section where Mr. Webber and his advance students sat, to bring them applause, before raising it to sweep over the auditorium to gesture the students backstage and the ones in the sound/light box above them.

The clapping hadn't stopped by the time the curtains closed and they left the stage. Mr. Khan gathered them around and told them to go to the audience for pictures and greetings. Most of the cast eagerly went, and the others trailed behind them but Erik lingered. The room was soon empty except for him and Mr. Khan, he spoke.

"Is Mr. Stilgoe out there?" he asked hesitantly.

Mr. Khan nodded and clasped his hands together with a smile. "Shall we go meet him?"

Suddenly, Erik felt a little nauseous, probably from nerves but knowing that didn't make it go away. He felt Mr. Khan place his hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the instructor's soft grin.

"The musical was a success, Erik. I'm sure he's more eager to meet you then before. Come on."

Erik let Mr. Khan lead him out into the auditorium. There were many people still there, families of the cast bringing them gifts but also others who wanted to congratulate them. He saw Raoul preening under the attention of a couple female students who were obviously flirting with him. His parents stood a few feet away, shaking their heads in amusement. He saw Christine being given a huge bouquet of roses from her aunt then hugged by her. He saw the Giry parents gush over Meg, making her laugh and as she tried to calm their enthusiasm with the picture taking.

To no surprise, what he didn't see was his own mother. He had bought a ticket for the show and left it on the refrigerator for her to see it. He had hoped that she would come, but he wasn't surprised by her no show.

He wouldn't let it ruin this night.

Mr. Khan stopped behind an older man, perhaps in his early sixties and tapped the man on the shoulder. The man turned around, and Erik took note of the gray white beard that grew around a light smile and the ice blue eyes that had a warm sparkle.

"Nadir!" The man proclaimed warmly, bringing Mr. Khan in for a hug.

Erik had to smirk at how uncomfortable his instructor looked as he was embraced.

"Robert." Mr. Khan gasped, apparently being hugged a little too hard by the older man.

Mr. Stilgoe instantly pulled back smiling now sheepish, but not letting go of Mr. Khan's shoulders.

"Good to see you. Tonight was awesome! Simply outstanding, especially for a high school with a budget!" Mr. Stilgoe praised.

Mr. Khan cleared his throat then nodded behind him towards Erik. "I would like to introduce to you the student who deserves the most praise, as he was the one to do most of the work."

Mr. Stilgoe let Mr. Khan go and the instructor turned so that Erik was now in view. "Robert, this is the student I told you about. Erik, meet Robert Stilgoe. Robert, this is Erik Destler."

Mr. Stilgoe held out his hand and Erik took it, the older shook it enthusiastically. "Pleasure to meet you Erik! I have heard great things about you. Even if only half of them were true, I would still want to meet you!"

"Pleasure is mine sir." Erik replied simply, liking the energy that pulsed off the man. "Let me assure you that I have never known Mr. Khan to be a liar so everything he has told you is true."

Mr. Stilgoe let out a laugh and let go of his hand. "Real modest aren't you?! I like him, Nadir, he's got spunk!"

"Let me assure you that if you take him on after he graduates, he'll soon be causing you a lot of trouble, but it'll all be worth it." Mr. Khan stated fondly, causing Erik to feel his cheeks warm.

Mr. Stilgoe nodded. "I have no doubt about it! But from what I saw tonight, it's already worth it!"

Erik froze, his mind going blank at Mr. Stilgoe's words. Mr. Stilgoe turned to him smiling, but his mind was still rebooting.

"So how about it, Erik? Want to work for this old man in a theatre company once you gradate?" he asked.

Erik's mind finally came online. "You don't mind my, ah, my…" Unable to continue he just gesture towards his face which he haven't cover up since the end of the show.

Mr. Stilgoe stared at him for a few moments now frowning, which made Erik more nervous.

"Now let me assure you Erik." Mr. Stilgoe spoke slowly and firmly. "Nadir had told me about your…appearance. By that time I had already decided to come here. Talent, for me, comes before looks. While I'll admit to not expecting this as being what you look like, I can safely say to you that your talents and abilities far outreach what you look like. Therefore. How would you like to be on plane to New York a week after you graduate?"

Erik broke out in laughter at the sheer relief and happiness he felt. As he felt his eyes start to burn, he covered his eyes with his hand still laughing. Once he calmed down enough to answer he did so with a large smile.

"That would be amazing!"

 **If any of you need help picturing what the set and everything might look lit here's a link: watch?v=lKZbtLxxPfg &t=3s&index=12&list=LLkUxc4piD3CaZWSVdxxddlg **

**It's a video of Hunchback of Notre Dame as a play and it's cool! I suggest going to 16:55 and watch that! It's "World is Cruel" and "Out There." Or at the very least, 18:25 because that's "Out There" and it's really good!**


	16. It Was Such A Good Day, What Happened?

It was such a Good Day, Why'd this Have to Happen?

Graduation was super slow in Erik's opinion. Snail slow. There were a couple hundred in his class, which wasn't all that bad. However, the speeches took at least an hour of the ceremony and for every person who walked across the stage, there was an announcement of their name and what they would be doing. Majority, of course, were going to colleges, though there was a good chunk who had decided to go into the Armed Forces. He did pity those who only had their names spoken out, because it usually meant that they didn't have a set plans. No job, no college, no country service. While he knew there was an option to ask for their plans to not be announce, he believed that it wasn't the case for all of them.

Erik didn't know if it was bad or good that he was near the front. Sure he was able to get the walk done and over with once it had begun, but then it was done and he had to wait in dreadful boredom for the rest of the time as his peers walked. Though, he supposed he should be grateful at the very least that they were inside a large arena rather than outside. It was already uncomfortably warm and humid during the afternoons.

But Erik digressed.

He knew that the Giry's were in the stands above, including Antoinette, who had recently bought a car so was able to make the drive to be here. She was also spending the week back at the Giry house, leaving when Erik was going to leave so that they could make the trip together. The original plan had been for Erik to take a plane but Antoinette had offered to drive him back, and he accepted right away. He really didn't want to deal with how the airport work and the possible difficulties that could arise with his mask. Mr. Stilgoe hadn't minded, probably saved him a few hundred dollars in the process.

Erik wondered if Christine and Raoul were in the stands. They both sent him a text that they would come, but he wouldn't blame them if they had changed their minds. Erik didn't even want to be here. It was way too long to sit around a wait for your 30 seconds of fame before having to sit and wait again. And that was for the graduates, he didn't want to imagine how boring it must be for the people in the stands. Then again, at least they got to leave early.

Since the ceremony was only half-way through the names, Erik let his thoughts drift.

On the last day of school, most the seniors spent it signing yearbooks, saying goodbye to each other and their teachers. Erik had planned on doing none of that, except say his goodbyes to Mr. Khan and Mr. Webber.

Mr. Webber had been first seeing as he had his class first. Erik spent the class time in the second room like he usually spent class and did what he could for his musical while Mr. Webber had been teaching. The bell rang to dismiss the class, Erik lingered and the instructor soon entered the second room.

Mr. Webber had stared at him silently then came up to him and pulled Erik into a hug. Erik was taken off guard and it took him a few moments to return the motion. It was brief, but as they pulled apart Erik was stunned to see that Mr. Webber's eyes were glassy.

Erik opened his mouth to speak, the instructor waved his hand dismissingly, letting out a sniffle as he did.

"I'm fine," the instructor mumbled. "Just got something in my eyes, is all."

Erik grinned softly at the obvious lie. "I'll miss you too, Mr. Webber. You have taught me so much, I'll forever be grateful to you for that."

After he spoke, Mr. Webber proceeded to turn his back, but Erik could see that the instructor was doing something that very much looked like wiping away tears.

Later, Erik was in Mr. Khan's class, and their goodbyes were a lot less expressive though still just as emotional.

There were no hugs and Mr. Khan certainly didn't sniffle, however, as the instructor had held out his hand with a gloomy grin, Erik knew that he was going to be missed by the theatre teacher as well.

Erik clasped the instructors hand in his and they did one firm shake. Mr. Khan then placed his other hand on Erik's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"I wish you all the best. And I know that someday, I'll be seeing your name in lights." He let go of Erik's hand to raise a finger at him, expression suddenly stern. "Don't you be giving Mr. Stilgoe too much trouble like you did with me."

Erik had scoffed good-naturedly. "Now, where's the fun in that?"

That had made Mr. Khan let out an exasperated sigh, but he was smiling back.

Erik abruptly came back to the graduation when a louder cheer then the earlier ones brought him back from his thoughts. Apparently the last person had walked the stage. The class president took to the podium once again and said a few words. She called for the class to stand, and they did. Former students all around Erik now buzzing with renewed energy.

Together the class brought their tassel from the right side to the left and the class president announced the ceremony over. As she spoke the class, all the new graduates—including Erik, grabbed their caps from their heads and tossed them in the air. Cheers and applause surrounded them, but soon died down.

Erik was grateful that he was able to thrown his cap, more or less straight in the air, thus was able to pick his out easily from the others that now cluttered on the floor. He followed the person in front of him as the class was escorted out off the floor and into the back to return their gowns before heading out. He took off the gown easily and dumped it in the bin that was already filled with a bunch of other gowns and walked out, holding his cap in one hand and his new diploma in his other.

Once he was finally able to make his way out it took some time for him to find the Giry's.

Though to be honest, they were the ones who found him.

Erik tried to look through the growing crowd for a familiar face, but he was suddenly tackle from behind. He lost his footing but luckily not his balance enough to fall. Once he was able to straighten, he looked down to see a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, following an arm he turned his head and saw Meg grinning up at him.

"Congrats Erik!" Meg yelled, though it didn't sound like one considering the volume around them.

Erik also spotted the rest of the Giry's coming towards them, plus Christine and Raoul. All of them were wearing pleased smiles.

As soon as they reached him and Meg, Erik was immediately pulled into the Giry parents arms. Mr. Giry patting his back like a proud father, and Mrs. Giry giving him that smile that always made him feel loved. Erik already felt a little overwhelmed by the affection, which didn't end with them.

Antoinette grabbed him and pulled him into her. She hugged him for a few seconds then Erik found himself in a chokehold, protesting loudly as she messed up his hair. Eventually she let him go laughing and pushed him gently until he stumbled back into the arms of Christine and Raoul.

The pair caught him on both sides. Taking one arm each, they pulled him down and gave him a peck on each cheek at the same time. That action was what took Erik most by surprise, but none of the Giry's reacted like anything was wrong so he didn't say anything.

Not that he thought he could with all of them surrounding him. Mr. Giry had his camera out and was taking photo after photo as if trying to make a movie out of the collection of pictures he must be getting. Mrs. Giry fussed over Erik, and telling him how proud she was. Antoinette and Meg were behind her, having twin smiles and were whispering to each other, letting out a laugh every now and then. Raoul and Christine stay by his side, refusing to give him back his arms, though Erik supposed he didn't really fight for them too hard.

Eventually, they made their way to the parking lot. Erik had gotten to the ceremony by taking the bus but Mr. Giry refused to let him take it back. So he got a ride back to the apartment with the Giry parents, while Meg, Christine, and Raoul drove back with Antoinette.

Apparently the Giry parents didn't trust Erik to not convince Antoinette to let him take the bus back.

Erik walked into the apartment it was dark. Not that he was surprised, if his mother was here it would be late enough for her to be in bed anyway. He walked to the kitchen to grab a little snack before bed. The kitchen light turned on as he got to the entrance.

Erik jumped back but he saw that it was mother, he relaxed. But then he took in her demeanor. She was sitting in her PJ's at the fold-up table they used to eat on, appearing relaxed but her eyes told Erik something different.

"Mother?" Erik asked wary stepping into the kitchen slowly, watching her grimace at the title. He knew she never like the times he called her that so he made sure not to do it often, but he was too concern to care right now. "Has something happened?"

"You could say that." She replied raspy. She wasn't looking at him, but made a dismissive hand wave towards him. "You graduated today, didn't you?"

Erik perked up. Did mother wish to congratulate him? He knows that she's not the most loving mother one could have, but he'll take what he can.

"Ah, yes. That's right." He acknowledged, wondering what mother would say next.

It was the last thing he expected.

She nodded lazily. "Good, you can move out and never come back."

For a moment, Erik didn't think he heard right. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're legal age and graduated from high school." Mother explained sarcastically, now glaring at him harshly. "I am no longer legally required to take care of you. Therefore, I want you out of here so I don't have to see you or that face of yours ever again."

The last part she ended with a sneer that transformed her face hideously to match her tone. Erik was frozen where he stood, her words ringing in his ears and repeating in his mind. He was only half aware that his hands had curled into fists, his shoulders shaking from the heated fury that begun to fill his being.

As mother turned away from him with a look of hated disgust, Erik cracked.

He vision tunneling in and seeing red, he lunged at her.

Mother let out an alarmed squeak as he grabbed her and pushed her into the wall. He had his hand around her throat, not tight enough to cut off her air, but enough that she felt the pressure and would not move. Her hands were clutching his arm in attempt to pull it away but she wasn't strong enough.

Erik ripped off his mask and leaned down for them to be eye to eye.

"You never want to see my face again do you?" Erik snarled, ignoring her struggling. "Then it should be the last thing you see of me! After all, you're the one who gave birth to me! You're the one who was able to bring such a being into this world! Now tell me, mother, what kind of person does that make you?"

He heard her gasp to which he squeeze his hand around her neck the slightest bit, but continued. "All my life, I've tried to do what I could to gain your love! Apparently it was never meant to be since you can still look at me in such a way and are asking me to leave! I may not have been the son you wanted, but at least I tried! Did you? No! Did you see me as a punishment for something you did? You must have, because if I'm the punishment for it, it must have been something terrible, because even now you cannot look me in the eye!"

He almost didn't feel the slap, with how angry he was, but he felt something against his cheek and having seen mother lift her arm, he knew what had happened. Still, it was enough for him to regain his focus. He took in mother's terrified face that had eyes watering with tears and let her go. She dropped to the ground on her knees but she didn't let that stop her from practically half crawling away from him in her hurry to get away. He didn't make any move towards her, neither to help nor hinder and she made it into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Erik heard the lock slide into place and he sighed, staring down at his hands like they weren't his own.

Never has he felt such rage, never has he lifted a hand towards anyone out of anger and he just did it towards his mother. Once he had let her go, the anger had drained away from him instantly, causing him to feel the aftereffects of such rage by now making him feel exhausted.

Exhausted and empty.

Erik grabbed his bag from underneath the couch and began packing his things, stuffing as much as he could because the bag had only been used for at most a week of clothing. He had a feeling he wouldn't get a chance to come back, so he tried his best. What he couldn't fit he left behind. Luckily, that was only a few pieces of clothing. For once he was grateful that he never had a lot of things.

Going up to the kitchen, he pulled a few small things from the fringe that would work for him to eat. All the food in the refrigerator was technically his anyway, thus he didn't feel any sympathy towards taking some.

It took about an hour to be ready.

As Erik swung the bag over his shoulder his glanced back at the closed door to mother's bedroom. He knew that she was still awake, probably leaning against the door in case he tried to come in, and waiting for him to leave.

He wanted to tell her he was sorry. For both hurting her and for not being the son she had wanted. He had tried, but he never succeeded and he knew that now. Accepting that would probably take a longer time, but he had to make the first step towards it.

Erik knew that any of his words would not be welcomed, especially right now, so he turned his back on the bedroom door. He twirled the apartment key in his fingers for a few moments before placing it on the stand next to the front door.

He took one last glance around the apartment that he had lived in since he was a child and that was unexpectedly ripped away from him.

Once he was done, he stepped out of the door and closed it. Leaving behind his mother and his old life behind.

Antoinette woke up to a noise at her window. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and looked out her window. She spotted the form of Erik on the tree branch and let out an exasperated sigh.

She stood up from her bed and made her way to the window. When she opened it, she leaned out to give Erik a piece of her mind, but then noticed his slumped shoulders, pale skin and glassy eyes.

Immediately, she pulled back for him to come in, which he did sluggishly causing Antoinette's concern to heighten.

"Dear Antoinette." Erik whispered croakily surprising Antoinette that he could talk. "I find myself in need of a place to stay for the week, as I apparently no longer have a place of residence."

Realization flooded through Antoinette and she felt her teeth grit together with the anger that took its place. Quickly, she went to Erik and took his bag. Once she did, she noticed that he was trembling the slightest bit.

After placing the bag down, she wrapped her arms around her friend, who instantly responded, hanging onto her like she was his lifeline.

"Of course you can stay, Erik." she hushed gently. "Calm down now. Everything will be alright."

They ended up following asleep still holding each other.

 **I know, a lot of you probably hate me right now for writing such a sad chapter but did you really expect anything different? I mean, we all know—in my story—that Erik's mom sucks, so is it that surprising? I don't think so.**

 **PLEASE READ: I'm giving my readers a chance to get the next chapter sooner. Since the story is completed with me, I'm offering the next chapter up in exchange for five reviews. And it has to be five different people, it'll be cheating if it's just the same person, though I'll be grateful if that were done. It's not like I'm going to withhold the next chapter till you do, it's just an opportunity to get them faster. I'll be doing this for the remainder chapters as well, except the last one but that's because it's shorter then my regulars. Anyway, I'll check to see what I get every morning and night. So as of now the earliest the next chapter will go up would be if I have five reviews by tonight. *shrug***

 **Next chapter is finally going to be the confession chapter. I know, so late into the story, but hey, this story was more slice of life genre anyway.**


	17. AWKWARD

AWKWARD!

The following morning ended up being a little awkward. Not between Erik and Antoinette of course, but when Erik had come down with her for breakfast and the rest of the Giry family were surprised to see him. Raoul and Christine had spent the night as well, but they were Meg's guest.

Before him and Antoinette had gone down, he explained what had happened, starting at the point of Mr. Giry dropping him off at the apartment. He told her everything, including the part where he had lost his temper against mother. That part was hard because the shame that built up in his throat caused difficulties in getting the words out. However, as he spoke, Antoinette was patient and quiet, holding one of his hands in both of hers to give silent encouragement.

Erik had finished, she squeezed his hand then let go, to stand up.

"My parents will want to know why you're here, but don't worry about telling them if you don't want to. I can do the talking for you." Antoinette offered, to which Erik nodded to her gratefully.

He changed his clothes from what he had worn yesterday, and the two went downstairs.

As she offered, Antoinette explained to the parent Giry's what had happened. She didn't tell them everything, deciding to leave out Erik's disgraceful behavior for which he felt thankful to her and a little guilty that the others didn't know the whole truth. Would they be as angry for him if they knew everything? Antoinette had reassured him that only part that was important was the fact that his mother had kicked him out, not his reaction towards it.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder, though that certainly wasn't enough for him to break his silence.

The Giry's welcomed him into their home as they had done many times in the past and he spent the week with them.

Mostly he spent the time with Antoinette. His original plan had been too slowly pick and choose what to pack and bring with him to New York in the apartment, but that plan had obvious gone down the drain. At least the other part happened, that being able to hang out with Meg, Christine, and Raoul his last week.

Christine and Raoul came over to the Giry home every day. Dragging Erik this way and that while the Giry sisters would follow behind talking among themselves. He didn't mind, seeing as he wouldn't get to be with them very often once he leaves with Antoinette.

The day before Erik and Antoinette was set to leave, the five of them were relaxing in the Giry home backyard. Erik was sitting on one of the swings of the two seat swing-set while Christine sat in the other one. The others were seated in front of him on a blanket. They had been participating in some mindless chatter until Christine made things serious.

"Do you miss it?" the only reason why Erik knew she was referring to him was because she said it looking directly at him.

The rest of the group got quiet, waiting for him to answer. He shot Christine a side glance. "Miss what in particular?"

"Your home at the apartments? Your mom?" she clarified, though now biting her lip as she spoke as if she regretted asking.

"Not really." Erik answered, looking forward again, but above where the others sat in front of him so that none of them could meet his eyes. "Sure it's only been a week, so maybe it just hasn't hit me yet, but I never saw that place as home. It was where I grew up and lived for most of my life, but to call it home? Doesn't really fit. To me, it was always the apartment, place I ate and slept. No more, no less."

He paused for him to gather the proper words for explaining how he didn't miss mother.

"Mother…" Erik began slowly, now staring down at the ground in next to him with his head cocked to the side thoughtfully. "Well, she may have been the woman who brought me here, but I wouldn't say she was ever a mom. She gave me what I needed to sustain myself but never anything more than that. I have tried for years to gain something more from her, but have long since grown tired of trying. I shouldn't have been as shocked as I was when she kicked me out and after a little bit of time to think it over, I no longer have such feelings over it. So no, to answer your question Christine, I don't miss it."

No one spoke for a few minutes, but eventually Antoinette started asking the younger three about their plans for next year and the topic was changed.

Once the sun was low in the sky, Antoinette stood up to stretch. She finished, and waved for Meg to get up as well.

"Come on, let's head back inside."

Meg nodded and stood up, and as did Raoul so that she could grab the blanket. Erik made to stand as well, but a hand on his stopped him. He turned and saw that the hand was Christine's.

"Can you wait a bit? We need to talk to you." She asked hesitantly.

Figuring it had something to do with him leaving tomorrow, he stayed. He heard a giggle, and turned to see Raoul glaring at Meg and Antoinette who were both walking away with knowing smirks. Raoul continued to scowl at their backs until the two sisters closed the house door behind them.

"They are _so_ going to be watching this from a window or something." He mumbled darkly squinting at the ground around Erik's feet, making Erik puzzled

"Don't tell me that! I'm already nervous without an unseen audience!" Christine complained, tightening her grip that had Erik's hand.

"Ah…" Erik was totally confused. "What's going on?"

Raoul huffed and crossed his arms in front of him but didn't reply, as Erik watch him shift uneasily from foot to foot, he could tell that the younger was nervous.

Christine stood from the swing and moved until she was in front of Erik. Since she was close he had to turn his face upwards to look at her. He saw that she was wriggling her hands almost violently and was biting her lip.

"Erik," Christine began. "We've been meaning to tell you something for a while, but haven't been able to come up with a good way to say it."

"So you wait until the very last day before I leave to tell me? That's not giving me much of a reaction time." Erik teased lightly, trying to calm the obviously tense pair.

He heard Raoul snicker behind Christine and she herself gave him a weak grin.

"We've stalled a lot, I'll admit." She conceded. Then she let out a sigh. "Look, we decided to just show you and try to explain from there. Please don't freak out."

"What would I—" Erik began but was cut off by a pair of lips. Christine's lips to be exact.

His mind turned blank. He didn't know what to do, that's how astonished he was. He felt her warm grip on where she had taken his face in her hands, he felt her hair tickle his skin as the hair was draped over them like a curtain, and he felt her lips pressed against his but it was only pressure, nothing more.

It lasted a few seconds, but to Erik it felt a lot longer. Christine pulled away and before Erik could gather his thoughts he was being kissed again.

Though he knew it wasn't Christine. The hands were rougher for one and the fact that there was no curtain of hair made him realized that it was Raoul. The differences of the two were that while Christine's lips were softer and fuller, Raoul had thinner lips that were slightly chapped. Again, the kiss was only pressure, again it felt longer to Erik then probably was reality.

Eventually, Raoul pulled back and let go of Erik to take a step back.

"Wow…" Raoul whispered in awe, breaking Erik from his daze.

"Yeah, wow. What'd you do that for?" he probed in disbelief.

Christine was the one to answer, seeing as she had a little time to regain her senses.

"We kind of, um, been nursing this crush on you for a while." She replied, starting to mess with her hands again.

"Both of you? Since when?" Erik questioned, tightening his grip on the swing to keep his hands still. "I thought you two were the ones who were going to get together."

"Trust me, I'm still working on that," Raoul answered with a roll of his eyes and Christine huffed next to him.

"Ah, we liked you since we first met you really." Christine continued, her cheeks taking on a slight pink tint and she didn't meet Erik's eyes. "Though we didn't know or do anything about it till Meg's birthday when we saw you again."

"Years…" Erik blinked not knowing what to say to that. They had a crush on him since the beginning of their friendship?!

"Yeah, and we know that you're asexual, duh that's pretty important, and we're fine with that. You can set the limits of what you do and not do of course." Raoul continued, the speed which he spoke getting faster as he went.

Erik frowned, loosening his grip on the swing now that he was sure they wouldn't shake anymore since the initial shock was gone. "You keep saying 'we' as in all three of us.

"Well yeah!" Raoul chimed in. "We had decided a while back that we didn't want this to ruin what we had with each other so figure we could just do this all together!"

"I…don't understand." Erik whispered, brows furrowed downwards under his mask.

"You be with me." Raoul simplified pointing to himself then pointing at Christine next to him. "At the same time as you're with her."

"You wish to share me?" Erik suspected, not liking the sound of what they were saying and how they were saying it.

"Well don't say it like that! That makes it sound like you're an object." Raoul protested, flailing his arms beside him and almost hitting Christine, who was chewing on her bottom lip aggressively.

"Aren't I though, in this case?" Erik countered, going to stand from the swing but was quickly pushed back down by two pairs of hands holding onto his upper arms.

"No! We love you!" Christine cried, though let her hold on his arm go once she saw that Erik wasn't making another attempt at standing.

"You two are fifteen. You cannot be in love with me. Maybe infatuation or puppy love, but you'll grow out of it soon enough." Erik protested, his temper begin to rise. Indeed, this was getting a little out of hand.

"Romeo and Juliet were our age when they fell in love!" Raoul argued, now only one hand placed on his shoulder.

Erik rolled his eyes. "Yes, and are you really going to use an example of a couple that killed themselves?"

"Because they knew how much their love was real!" Raoul continued, not letting up.

"That's debatable." Erik scoffed.

"Okay that's enough!" Christine suddenly yelled, causing him and Raoul to jump.

Erik turned his attention to her and noticed that her eyes were tearing up. Regret overwhelmed him and he quickly stood up, easily breaking Raoul's now limp hold on his shoulder. Coming up to Christine, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Christine, don't cry. Forgive me for allowing my temper to get out of hand." He entreated.

He heard her sniffle against his chest, watching as she raised one of her hands to wipe her eyes.

"Is there any way that'll you'll believe our feelings for you?" Christine sniffed lowly, keeping her head against his chest.

Erik sighed deeply and turned his head to glance back at Raoul who met his eyes.

Erik recognized the fear of rejection all too well.

Making his decision he pulled Christine away from him until they were arm's length away. He waited for Christine to look up at him before turning to Raoul to gesture for him to come closer. Once he did, Erik spoke.

"Give it three more years."

Immediately, Christine and Raoul launched into protest but Erik held up his hand and they were silent.

"Right now as things are, I do not have any of those kinds of emotions towards either of you." Erik began. "Now that could change, however, I also don't feel like going to jail for dating a minor, much less two. Give it three years. By then, both of you will have graduated and will be legal adults."

Erik paused, giving both of them a firm look, telling them that he won't compromise on that. Then both nodded reluctantly, he continued. "For now, let's us just stay as we are. Friends. But if you tell me that you still want to try whatever this would be after those three years, I'll give it a shot."

As he had spoken about remaining friends the two younger gained a pout, but by the time he was finished they were beaming at him.

Both of them lunged at him, and Erik was surprised with his own ability at keeping them all upright. Christine had wrapped her arms around his waist while Raoul's arms circled his chest and clasped his shoulder.

"That better be a promise!" Raoul demanded with a grin. "I'm not going to wait another three years without one!"

"I-I promise." Erik assured a little breathless since the two were hanging off of him.

"Time will probably go by slowly because of it but it'll be worth it!" Christine laughed. "We waited three years to tell you how we felt, I'm sure we can wait another three to be with you!"

And with that, the younger two pulled Erik down at the same time. Causing him to loose balance, the three fell to the ground laughing.

 **What that idea with the reviews apparently is not going to happen. *shrug* Figured I would give it a shot. Next chapter is going to time skip. Pretty big one since its goes straight to three years from this one.**


	18. Time Flew By

Time Flew By

 _3 years later…_

Erik was at graduation. Again.

This time though it wasn't for him, it was for his three younger friends: Christine, Raoul, and Meg. He had taken the drive back with Antoinette, and was currently sitting with the Giry family as they watched the ceremony.

It was just as boring and uncomfortably warm as the time he had graduated. The speeches drawled on and on and the handing out of diplomas was slow. However, he doesn't complain, he was here for his friends after all.

The past three years had moved quickly in Erik's opinion. He thinks it was mostly because he had been extremely busy from the day he had gone to New York with Antoinette to start his job under Mr. Stilgoe.

He insists that Erik call him Robert now.

Anyway, from day one, Mr. Stilgoe had him work in a number of different places, sometimes changing said places multiple times in one day. Every day he was everywhere helping with everything.

And he loved every minute of it.

Erik learned much in the past few years than he ever dreamed of learning within such a time span. The theatre he worked in was magnificent in Erik's opinion and by now, he had every corridor, room, and level memorized in his head. And there he was allowed to climb without the use of a ladder! Because of the multiple tasks Mr. Stilgoe often bestowed upon him on a given day, he used his memory of the layout and his ability to climb to make traveling between the different departments of the theatre easier and faster.

Which has gotten him into countless times of trouble in the beginning, but now, though he sometimes stills gets scowled after he startles someone too badly, the staff only view his moments with fondness.

He couldn't begin to count the number of times one of the staff members fussed over him as they told him he had apparently, "not dropped in to visit them" in their department for a period.

He has been given a lot of free food that way as well. Antoinette was always please with that.

Speaking of Antoinette, she has long since graduated from her dance academy. Now she was a dancer at the same theatre as Erik but he knew that she had been looking at auditioning for this ballet travel group that had been in the city for a couple weeks looking for new recruits. They had come and gone, and Erik was almost positive that Antoinette had auditioned. She has spoken about it before and she had told him that they don't give an acceptance or rejection until a couple weeks after, he thought that she hadn't gotten the results yet.

Though he firmly believes that they have to be crazy if they don't give her a spot.

Still, she hasn't told him anything.

A few months ago, their other roommate Toni moved out because she had gotten married. Sweet man, who had a charming smile. Antoinette and he had gone to the wedding of course and Antoinette had blushed almost tomato red as soon as she had caught the wedding bouquet.

Erik laughed a lot that night.

Even though she had moved out, Toni continued to pay her portion of the rent.

"Think of it as me repaying you two for being such great roommates and friends." She had told them after they protested her paying. The day she moved out completely, she gave Antoinette a tight hug and kissed Erik on his cheek. She made them promise to keep in touch, and they have been. Erik knows for a fact that she planned on coming to visit him at the theatre once they do their next production of Hunchback of Notre Dame.

…Mr. Stilgoe likes to bring it out at least once a year as a secret joke between him and Erik.

Erik didn't mind so much. He gets to help a lot more with decision making during its time back on stage.

He also made sure that, while he was learning new things every day, he kept up with his old skills. Every time Erik had a break, he was with the orchestra. The conductor let him play when he asked and has even taken a spot among them in several performances while they had someone out sick. He has done the same for his acting. Though, he made sure to never go for a role to actually perform, he loves filling in a role when one of the performers needed to practice more. Countless times the performers have encouraged him to audition for a role, but he always politely declined.

He will be forever grateful that they believed he could be an actor with his face.

Other than Mr. Stilgoe, no one at the theatre knew what Erik looked like underneath the mask, but neither did they pry or ask about it. Sure he had gotten a few curious glances after he had first started but Erik had expected that. Mr. Stilgoe had asked if he could make an announcement about his mask once he had been working there for a few weeks and Erik allowed it as he got confirmation that he didn't have to show what he looked like. Mr. Stilgoe had sent out an email that explained Erik's situation and made a warning about the consequences of any misconduct towards him. Mr. Stilgoe had explained to Erik that while he didn't believe that there would be any problem among his staff, he had wanted to get the message out there just in case.

There was never a 'just in case.'

The staff had opened their arms to him from the very beginning. Bestowing Erik with a feeling of familial acceptance and welcome he hadn't felt with anyone other than the Giry family.

He would like to add Raoul and Christine with that feeling but felt it inappropriate considering the situation between them.

Yes, Christine and Raoul…

Ever since the younger two's confession, the three of them had gone back to being friends as part of the agreement they had struck. And for the past three years, they had more or less stuck to it.

Erik had to admit that there were multiple occasions where he felt that they were acting a little more flirtatious with him but he couldn't pin it down because it was too close to how they usually acted. He mostly blamed it on him being more aware now that he knew the feelings behind the flirtations unlike previously. It wasn't a bad thing, he just knew the possible meanings behind them.

Antoinette had him alone in her car for the drive to New York, and she had grilled him until she knew every detail to what had happened. She had admitted to her and Meg watching what had happened in Meg's bedroom window but wanted to know what had been said. At first, Erik hadn't answered her, but Antoinette had stopped her car in the middle of the street they were on and refused to move until Erik relented.

He would have been okay with waiting her out if it hadn't been for the vehicles behind them, who had begun yelling and honking their horns at them. Antoinette had continued to sit there doing nothing, but the noise had caused Erik's get angsty so he had eventually agreed. Antoinette had smirked as she shifted her car out of parking and began to drive again. Erik glared at her for a good few minutes before he had told her what was said.

"You're making them wait three years?! Damn! That kind of sounds a little harsh." Antoinette had stated afterwards.

He sent her a scowl. "They're fifteen and I'm considered an adult, Antoinette. Plus I'm going to be living out of state. What did you expect me to do?"

"Well yeah, but…" Antoinette sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, okay. You're right, it was the right and smart thing to do. Especially since you don't know if you'll have those feelings for them ever, might as well wait until you couldn't get thrown in jail for trying to find out."

"Thank you." Erik huffed, turning away to look out the window.

"But…"

Erik had known she was going to do that. Rolling his eyes, he turned towards her again to wait for her to continue. Antoinette shrugged.

"I don't know. It kind of sucks for them, you know? For them, how they feel is real and they waited three years to work the courage up to tell you and now they have to wait another three? Yeah, I'll say that does suck."

"Well," Erik started, turning back to the window. "Right now I think they are only have a crush on me, to which they should be able to grow out of eventually. Who knows, maybe the three of us not being together all the time will help with that."

"I don't know." Antoinette drawled out teasingly. "Haven't you heard of that saying? 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.'"

Erik groaned in reply, putting his head in his hand, and Antoinette laughed.

But as he said, their relationship had more or less gone back to the way it was before the confession. The three of them text often and would be able to skype every once in a while. Raoul left theatre after his sophomore year and went to do the business program the school had and Christine continued to get roles in every play or musical that was chosen for the semester. She was the one who told him about Mr. Webber retiring at the end of her junior year. Erik had been sadden that his former music instructor was no longer teaching but accepted it since he knew that Mr. Webber was getting to that age. As their senior year went by, Christine would complain about the new music teacher and Raoul would gush about his business electives.

At one point, Erik had asked his three younger friends on skype, him being on one screen, Meg Raoul and Christine huddling together to all fit in the other about where they were going to college, the three took on an all too innocent expression which had made Erik instantly suspicious.

"Where are you going?" he had asked with a squint.

Apparently they had all applied at a specific university and had all gotten in.

The university was in New York, near the spot Erik and Antoinette lived.

If they hadn't told him that they each got a waver to pay the in-state tuition amount, Erik would have lectured them a lot longer. Erik knew that the Giry parents had encouraged Meg to go to New York so she had an excuse, but Raoul and Christine? Not as such.

And he had a pretty good guess as to why they were coming to New York.

Either way, Raoul was going to major in business, while Christine and Meg planned on going into performing arts. For a good chunk of that conversation Meg excitedly talking about how they offered those who wanted to focus in the dancing section an opportunity to live on campus in a specific dorm right behind the campus theatre where only they would live in.

Erik felt Antoinette elbow him gently in his gut, bringing him back to the ceremony. He let out a long yawn and heard Antoinette snicker next to him. He elbowed her gently back and sat up to figure out which part they were at. Once Meg had crossed the stage he had let himself zone out. Apparently they were on the last speech, the class president standing at the podium and announcing the ceremony to a close. All the new graduates threw their caps into the air and Erik was surprised by how high some of them got. He couldn't see any of the three among the crowd and stopped trying after a few moments.

He followed the Giry's down the stands and out into the parking lot. Everyone in attendance was trying to find a face they needed to meet up with. Erik didn't try too hard to find them, seeing as all the new graduates became a blur of colors everywhere. He stood by Antoinette's side and occasionally looked around.

Erik was surprised that he was the one to spot Meg. He raised he hand and called her name, she turned and spotted Erik. With a smile, she began making her way through the crowd, Erik kept his hand up for her to keep track of him easily. She cleared the crowd, and paused for moment then pointed at something behind him with a smirk.

Confused, he was about to start to turn when the decision was taken from him. Abruptly, he felt a hand on his shoulder that was used to spin him around. He lost his footing but then his face grabbed and brought down. Before he regained his bearings, lips were pressing against his.

The kiss lasted for a few moments and the person who grabbed him pulled back, he saw Christine smiling up at him.

"I waited three years to do that again." She breathed, eyes sparking as her thumbs stroked the bottom edge of his mask. "Totally worth it."

Erik gaped at her, not knowing how to talk at the moment. Unexpectedly, he felt a pair of hands grab his hips from behind and pulled until he was leaned against another body, this one male.

Erik was pretty sure the sound that came out of his mouth sounded like an inhuman squawk.

Sue him, he was taken by surprise.

He whipped his head around and almost came eye to eye with a laughing Raoul.

"And I waited to have you in my arms again!" he joked, but then paused.

He squinted at Erik, looking down before looking at the air above Erik's head.

"Damn! I didn't get taller than you." Raoul sighed dramatically, not letting him go. "I guess I can never go back to calling you short."

Erik noticed that both Christine and Raoul had gotten taller, but Raoul was at least an inch shorter then him. However, at that moment Erik was focusing on the fact that Raoul's hands were still on him and he was pressed against his back.

"Can you let me go now?" Erik asked politely, patting Raoul's hand to indicate what he meant.

Raoul released him, and Erik took a step away. Apparently that was to give Erik false hope because the next second he had his arms filled with the younger boy.

"Never letting you go!" Raoul exclaimed dramatically, his hands locked behind Erik's neck. "I did it once and I'm never doing it again!"

Erik rolled his eyes but didn't push him away. "Are you sure you're not the one who should be majoring in theatre?"

"You did promise." Christine appeared next to Erik. "If we still had feelings for you after we graduated you'll give us a chance."

He gave her a side glance. "I know. And I keep my promises."

She grinned happily, and Erik turned back to Raoul, who was purposely leaning his weight on him. Erik let him go and Raoul almost fell to the ground. He regained his balance and shot a scowl at Erik.

"Rude!"

Erik shrugged. "You're the one who chose to love me."

"Yeah," Raoul sighed dreamily, taking Erik off guard when he leaned forward to give him a soft short kiss on the lips. "I did."

 **And there it is! Finally together! One more chapter and then it's over. Next one's going to be shorter than the others because it's just a short part that I felt should still be a part of story.**

 **On another note I'll be posting a new story this week. Like this one and my first one, it is completed so everyone does not have to worry about it being abandoned...unless the lack of comments makes me fall into a pit of despair. We'll see.**


	19. Monster

Monster

"I have an announcement to make." Erik declared, gaining everyone's attention.

It was the day after the graduation. Erik and Antoinette spent the night at the Giry's and the next morning Raoul and Christine had come over to spend the day there. It was now dinnertime and everyone was seated when he called everyone to attention.

"I didn't want to say anything to anyone until I could have you all together. So not even Antoinette has heard anything about it." Erik began, sending his friend a grin as she sent him a fake offended look. "As you all know, I have been working on a musical for quite some time—"

"Oh my god! Did you finish it?!" Meg interrupted excitedly.

"Hush, Meg and he'll tell us." Mrs. Giry disciplined her younger daughter, though her tone was gentle.

Erik let his grin turn into a smile. "I not only finished it. I have sold it."

It was dead silent, Erik didn't mind it, because he enjoyed taking in all their shocked expressions. It didn't last long.

"WHAT?!" Multiple voices demanded and he laughed.

"The theatre I work at bought it. Mr. Stilgoe plans on starting the production next season." Erik explained, loving how everyone wore slackened jaws.

"Darling, this is fantastic news!" Mrs. Giry praised.

"Anything done by you is sure to be a hit!" Mr. Giry added. "We'll be the first ones to buy tickets, just you wait."

Everyone else said their congratulations to him, though Antoinette threw in a punch to his arm with hers for him not telling her about it.

"I guess I should share my news now as well." Antoinette stated once every one had quiet down again. "I got a spot for the traveling ballet group that I had auditioned for."

Praise and congrats went around again. Erik felt ecstatic that his longtime friend got the spot. He knew that they would be crazy to not have taken her. They have proven their sanity to him.

Yet, he felt a little pit in his stomach. Antoinette would be gone again, traveling the country while he stayed behind. Again. He was happy for her, no doubt about that, but he'll miss her greatly.

Again.

Something must have shown on his face, because Antoinette sent him a sad grin but she also had a glint in her eye which made Erik frown in confusion.

"But I'll be leaving behind an empty apartment." She continued her grin turning mischievous. "Plus our third roommate had moved out recently so Erik's the only one living there."

"Antoinette, where are you going with this?" Erik demanded not liking where this is going.

Antoinette grin bloomed into a smile. "Christine. Raoul. How would you like to take me and Toni's place our apartment?"

"What?!" Erik gasped, even as he heard Raoul let out a whoop.

"All right! Yeah, I'll definitely go for that!" Raoul exclaimed punching the air with his fist once.

"I love the idea." Christine stated thoughtfully, but had a frown. "But could we afford it?"

"You'll probably get a refund from the school after the semester begins, that should cover at least a few months ever semester. I recommend getting a job though, if you're serious." Antoinette recommended. "What do you think Erik?"

Erik groaned and slammed his head onto the table. "I think I'll be dead by the end of the first semester."

"Now, don't be so negative!" Antoinette sang cheerfully. "You need roommates, and what better ones then the two who _love_ you?!"

Erik just let out another groan and refused to speak after that.

Later that night, after Christine and Raoul had left, each giving Erik a short but sweet kiss on his cheeks in goodbye, him and Antoinette laid in her bed facing each other.

Erik had his eyes close, attempting to fall asleep but Antoinette had other plans.

"Erik?" she whispered.

He hummed to let her know that he was awake but didn't open his eyes.

"Do you still think you're a monster?"

His eyes shot open at that. He tried to make out Antoinette's expression but it was too dark to see it, even at their distance.

"Where did that come from?"

He watched as Antoinette shrugged. "I guess, I've been thinking about it lately but never got the occasion to ask. With Raoul and Christine wanting to be with you after you gave them a fixed time, I feel like now was the best time to ask. They love you, as you are, how you are. And they are not the only ones. Well, maybe love you that way but—"

"I get it." Erik interrupted softly.

"So?" she probed.

Knowing she was not going to let it go until he answered he thought about it.

Always he had felt that he was a monster because of his face, one that even a mother couldn't love. But as time went by, sure he had people like Joseph Buquet think of him that way but he also had people like the Giry's, who never flinched from his appearance. Mr. Khan and Mr. Webber, and later on Mr. Stilgoe who looked behind the mask and saw genius. Toni, who had helped him grow to know himself and all the staff at the theatre he worked in who encouraged him in his creativity and scolded him out of fondness never out of malicious intents.

And then there was Christine and Raoul. Two who believe themselves in love with him. _With him_. Never had he thought it would be possible for one person let alone two to gain such feelings towards him. He believes in their sincerity now. He made them wait thinking that by the time it was over, they would have gotten over him. But no. Instead he told them to wait and they did.

Maybe he didn't have the love of his mother, but Erik decided that it was okay. Because he had realized that he had gained many others along his life to replace that love a hundred fold! Ones who he can return such affections and he wouldn't be rebutted for it.

Erik pictured everyone he knew cared about him in his mind.

They were his family, they were not related by any means but when has that matter? Family didn't begin and end in blood and he had found his without it. It just took him a while to realize it.

He had a home.

Deciding on his answer, Erik opened his mouth and answered his longtime friend.

"No. I am not a monster." He whispered firmly. This time, for the first time in his life, he believed it with all his heart.

 **Okay, so that's the end of it. Hope my readers enjoyed the ride. Since it's over I would love to hear what your thoughts. You can tell me something general or if something was your favorite part and/or chapter. Did you get mad or laugh at the character's sake? Let me know with a review.**

 **If you like this one, I'll be happy for you to check out my other stories. I have one other completed POTO story and one that's in progress.**

 **Thank you all for reading!**


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